You're your dad's daughter
by joycie89
Summary: Emma, Kurt's adopted daughter, is eight years old and a Spina Bifida patient with malfunctioning kidneys. What'll happen when she needs a transplant? Cue Blaine, Emma's biological father. Klaine AU, medical drama.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, you guys! How are you? I've missed you.**

**My new story is finally here, yay! I'm gonna go with weekly updates on Sunday for the moment. I've got a lot written already, so I should be good for a few weeks. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Many, many, many thanks to Themuse19, for being an awesome beta. She's the best! Go read her stories if you aren't already. (especially Model Behavior).**  
** Also, Many thanks to Tomoyosita, for being my muse and a critic eye. I love you!**

**WARNINGS: It's a fill prompt for the GKM. Klaine AU (what else). Past Blaine/Rachel, and Past Kurt/Chandler (well, present for the first chapter, you'll see.), will contain adult content in future chapters. Kurt is 25 in the first chapter, Blaine (even if you don't see him) is 17. From the second chapter, Kurt is 32, Blaine 25. Kurt and Blaine never met, Kurt and Rachel neither. Emma has Spina Bifida, which means she'll never be able to walk. The rest will be explained in the story.**

**ENJOY!**

CHAPTER 1

"What?"

"I'm just not sure, Kurt. It's… a lot."

"Chandler, you can't just… back out!" Kurt exclaimed, shocked. "She's not a piece of clothing you can return."

"I know, but the adoption agent did give us the option," Chandler pointed out. "She's not here, yet. We have to think this through, Kurt."

Kurt shook his head. "No, there's nothing to think about. That's my daughter, and she might not have a perfect body, but I won't give her up for the world!" With that Kurt stormed out of the living room and into their bedroom. He couldn't believe his husband. He couldn't believe Chandler would give up their baby girl! He opened his closet door brutally and grabbed a pair of pajamas, and stomped to the bathroom. He threw the door closed behind him, leaned against it and sank to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees to pull them close to his chest. He tried to take a deep breath without giving the sob that was threatening to escape from his throat free range. He and Chandler had decided this together. It might have been Kurt's idea to expand their family, but Chandler had agreed.

They had been so excited when this young couple from Ohio had picked them to raise their baby, a baby girl, as they had discovered a few weeks later. This morning their social worker had called them because she needed to talk to them, urgently. She had told them the doctor had discovered their baby girl had Spina Bifida, a rare medical condition. It basically meant her spine wasn't fully formed, which would make her paralyzed from below the navel, along with a whole lot of other potential medical complications, like malfunctioning kidneys and intestines. It had taken them both by shock, but Kurt's initial reaction was that it was going to be okay; they could do it. It would require a lot of changes, but it was for their daughter. He might have only seen e few blurry pictures and a short video of her, but he loved her already, and he had assumed Chandler did as well, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

He took a deep breath to gather himself and stood up so he could turn on the hot water for the shower before he slowly got undressed. As he stepped in the shower he let his tears flew freely. He didn't know what to do, what to expect. He didn't want to do this alone. He loved his husband deeply, but he also didn't want to give up his daughter.

After his shower he got into bed, facing the wall, so he wouldn't have to look at his husband when he came in. He closed his eyes, but his mind wouldn't slow down. Different scenarios passed his eyes, until he felt the mattress dip. Chandler was crawling in behind him, so Kurt shifted closer to the edge of the bed, shying away from Chandler's touch. "Kurt?" He could hear Chandler's voice break. "Kurt, baby, please, don't do this. Don't shut me out." Kurt sighed and rolled on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"What do you want me to say?" He sniffed. "You don't want our daughter."

"I do, Kurt. Of course I want a daughter with you… it's just," He could hear Chandler take a deep breath. "It's not gonna be easy. You know that, right? She's gonna need special care, extra attention, maybe someone else will be able to give that to her better than we could."

"And what if there's no one else? What if she ends up in foster care? Or worse, what if the couple decides to abort her? I've researched it; they make exceptions for cases like this."

"We're both so young, though. We're at the start of our careers. Maybe-"

"Don't!" Kurt cut him off. "I don't even want to hear you suggest it."

"Kurt… I'm just trying to be reasonable here. She's gonna need full-time care."

"And I'll do it," Kurt answered, stubborn. "I'll quit my job to take care of her; maybe they'll let me do some freestyle articles. You make enough money for the both of us."

"I do… but are you sure you want to give up your dream job at Vogue?" Chandler asked, timidly.

"Dreams change," Kurt answered resolutely.

…

Kurt was softly stroking his daughter's cheek. She looked so vulnerable, a small bundle in the big hospital bed. They got lucky, the doctors said. She was recovering extremely well, and with a bit of luck they'd get to take her home in a week or two. The open wound on her back was almost completely healed, and the shunt brain pump they'd inserted to drain cerebrospinal fluid was working unexpectedly well. In a lot of cases the body rejected the unknown object, causing infections and fevers, where they would have to remove the shunt, get the child back to full health, and try it again. It could take up to six tries over several months, the doctor had warned them, but not with their daughter. Emma's body had accepted the shunt without complications, to her fathers' great delight. She had even been allowed to leave the Neonatal ICU after six weeks, and was transferred to the regular children's ward the day before.

Kurt checked the clock that was hanging above the door and smiled. Chandler should be here any minute now. Kurt had quit his job, as he had said, so he spent his days at his daughter's side. He'd had some visitors, but when they were in the NICU, they would only be allowed to stay 10 minutes, so he'd gotten lonely a lot. Not that he'd change it, he wouldn't move from his daughter's side unless he had to, but some company never hurt.

"Hey, Sweetie," the nurse said as she came into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Kurt smiled at her. Except for his husband, the nurses were often the only people he. these days. He was almost convinced he was going to miss them once he got to take his daughter home.

"And how's our little girl?"

"She's been sleeping soundly since her last meal."

The nurse nodded. "That's great. You know we're decreasing her pain medication, so she should be more awake and alert soon. After her next feeding, we're gonna lay her on her back for an hour. So far she's always been on her side or her stomach to relieve her back, but she needs to practice lying on her back, so she can sit in a carriage when you take her home. Her wound is almost fully healed, so we're going to start with an hour after every mealtime, and slowly increase it."

Kurt nodded. He had been worried about that. At the hospital Emma was under constant surveillance, so if she moved too much, and her breathing was restricted there would be someone instantly, but at home that wouldn't be the case. If she was asleep in her own crib, there wouldn't a constant monitoring.

"Also, your husband just called. He's going to be a bit later. He says he needs to stay late at work, but he'll be here as soon as he can."

Since Kurt wasn't allowed to have his cell phone at the hospital, Chandler called the desk when his plans changed, which happened a lot, lately, or maybe Kurt was just noticing more because he was stuck in the hospital all day.

"It's time for the urinary catheterization. Do you want to do it?" The nurse looked at Kurt encouragingly.

"Yes," Kurt nodded enthusiastically. They had taught him how to do it a few days before, and ever since he had been practicing under the nurses' supervision. He had to perfect his technique before he could take Emma home. He was gaining confidence, and it barely took him 15 minutes to complete the whole process.

As nurse left, somebody else walked in, surprising Kurt. "Susan!" The man jumped up and gave the women a quick hug. "How are you? What a surprise to see you." Susan was their social worker, the one that had helped them with the adoption of their daughter.

"Hi, Kurt! I'm so happy I found you here," she said. "I hope everything is going well?"

Kurt nodded. "It's good. We can probably take her home next week or the week after that."

"I'm glad to hear that. I have some questions for you regarding the adoption."

"Everything is okay, right?" Kurt asked worriedly.

"Everything is fine. It's just… well, I have something for you and your husband."

"Oh?" Kurt looked curiously.

"Yes. Well, I know you have a closed adoption, so the biological parents can't contact you and vice versa."

Kurt nodded. That's what was agreed upon, and neither he nor Chandler had objected. Kurt hadn't cared much if it had been an open adoption, but Chandler had seemed relieved at the request.

"I made a last visit to the biological parents last week, and the boy, he asked something from me."

"Oh?" Kurt cocked his head; he was intrigued. He knew his daughter's biological parents were very young, a high school couple, at least he assumed they were a couple. The agency hadn't told them more than their ages and their medical backgrounds.

"I know it's a closed adoption, but I also know it was at request of the girl, not yours or the boy, so I don't feel too guilty for this." She opened her purse and gave Kurt a letter.

Kurt accepted it and looked at it with wide eyes. He turned the envelope, but it was blank.

"The boy asked me to give this to you. He said he wanted to leave something for his daughter. He also said there were no strings attached, and he expected nothing, but he wanted you to have it."

"It's… a letter?"

Susan nodded. "I have no idea what it says, and if it asks for contact, you are free to refuse it, obviously, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it to you."

"Thanks," Kurt swallowed. A letter from the biological father from his daughter - that was unexpected.

"I wish I could stay longer, but I can't. When you have her home I'll come for a final visit, okay?"

Kurt agreed and waved goodbye, absentmindedly. He turned the letter around in his hands a few more times, but nothing magically appeared on it. He pondered if he should wait to open it until Chandler got there, but decided against it. He was too curious to wait, so he tore it open, and two letters fell out. One was addressed to 'the parents' and the other to 'my daughter'. He opened the first one.

_Hello,_

_I want to apologize. I know it's a closed adoption, and I'm not supposed to contact you at all, but I just can't help myself. I just, I need to let this out._

_First, thank you! Thank you for giving my daughter the home she deserves and a set of parents who can take care of her, and accept her, despite her condition. You can't believe how glad I am that you decided to go through with the adoption, even after we discovered her condition. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't._

_Secondly, I'm sorry, I'm gonna overstep my boundaries, but I can't help but try. Rachel (that's the biological mother) insisted on a closed adoption, and I agreed, but not whole-heartedly. I want to know my daughter is okay. I want to know she turns out okay. I want to know she's as healthy, and happy as she can possibly be. I know I have no right whatsoever to ask this, but if you only agreed to a closed adoption per our request, I'd like to ask you to keep me informed. I've included my address at the bottom, and I'll be happy with whatever you can give me: a letter, a photo, or even just a sentence 'she's okay, she made it'. I just, I need to know she's doing okay._

_I promise to never contact you again, unless you specifically ask. If you do decide to send me something, you don't even need to put a return address on the envelope, if that makes you more comfortable._

_If you do not reply to this, I will accept it as well, because I know I agreed to a closed adoption, so I have no rights at all. I do however ask you to give this second letter in the envelope to her once she reaches an acceptable age, or whenever she asks about her biological parents._

_Thank you, again, for giving my daughter a home._

_Blaine._

Kurt swallowed and looked at the address at the bottom. It was Westerville, Ohio, not even a two-hour drive from the town he grew up in. He shook his head at the familiarity and opened the second letter.

_My sweet, beautiful daughter,_

_I was barely allowed to see you after you were born, but I remember you were the most beautiful thing I ever saw. It's an image I will never forget._

_Rachel and I were very young when you were born, and we were not able to take care of you, so we found you a family who would. I do hope you're happy. You deserve everything in life!_

_I'm writing this letter, in case you have any questions about your biological background._

_I'm 17 and I've lived in Westerville my whole life (well, maybe not anymore by the time you read this; I certainly hope not). I love to sing, and I'm the lead in the show choir at school (so is Rachel, it's where we met), so there's a good chance you'll have an incredible voice as well. I dream of becoming a Broadway actor someday. If that doesn't happen (which is likely) I hope to become a music teacher. I have a brother who is 7 years older than I. If you have any siblings, I know they're annoying as hell, but after a while you'll learn to appreciate them, especially when they're there when you need them the most._

_Some random facts about me you might enjoy: I love dogs, I want one as soon as I graduate and live on my own. I have at least 25 different bowties, and I wear every single one of them. I'm obsessed with Katy Perry and P!nk, but I hate rap music. I love coffee, and I blame my constant adrenaline on that. I'm tiny, but I'm convinced my growth spurt will kick in any day now._

_I hope you're happy, I hope you're safe, and I hope you love your parents. You deserve the best in life, and I want it all for you._

_Also, I'm sorry for the horrendous hair you apparently inherited from me. I hope you grow out of the afro curls. If not, like me, I recommend loads of gel._

_Love, your father, Blaine._

Kurt smiled as he put both letters back in the envelope and softly stroked his daughter's hair. She had a head full of black curls, except for the patch where it was shaved when they had to put the shunt in. It would grow back quickly, and the rest of her wild curls hid it fairly well. Kurt was certain he would never give her gel, and shuddered at the idea of what this Blaine was apparently doing to his hair.

He knew Chandler wouldn't want them to contact Blaine, but he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy. A few pictures and a few words wouldn't hurt anyone, right? He would definitely appreciate them if the roles were reversed. He would only show the letter for their daughter to Chandler, and keep the other one to himself.

…

"You… you're what?" Kurt blinked.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I can't do this," Chandler shook his head. "I need my life back."

"You… you need your life back?" Kurt was at loss for words. Chandler was standing in front of him, bags packed and standing at the front door. "What, I, what? I don't understand?"

"Look, I just, I can't do this anymore," Chandler repeated. "It's too much. The doctor visits, the hospitals, I have no social life outside of work, and we barely do anything anymore. We don't go out, we don't go to the movies like we used to. When's the last time we went out for a drink? Two or three years ago? Everything's changed, and I don't want that."

"But, we have a daughter, of course everything has changed," Kurt replied, stepping closer to his husband. He grabbed Chandler's hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "A wonderful two-year-old we have to take care of. We can't go out, she needs us here. We can't just hire a babysitter, she needs special care."

"And I never wanted it."

Kurt let go of Chandler and stumbled backwards.

"I never wanted this life."

"But, we wanted children, we decided it together," Kurt stuttered out. "I… we…"

"I want my life back, Kurt. I just… maybe I just need time, okay? Look the apartment is yours, you can keep it, you can keep everything, I don't care. I just need, time… alone."

"Chandler, please, no," Kurt pleaded as his husband turned around and grabbed his bags. "Don't walk through that door, please."

"I'm sorry, Kurt."

…

Kurt sighed as he buried his face in his hands. It had been exactly three months since Chandler had walked out of that door and out of their lives. He had come to visit a few times, and part of Kurt had hoped he'd get his act together and return home, but his last piece of hope was crushed this morning, when he had gone to the attorney's office to sign the divorce papers. Chandler had been generous, giving Kurt the apartment and everything in it. He didn't ask for joint custody, only a monthly visit at Kurt's apartment.

Kurt had seen it coming. Chandler's career had always been important for him. Kurt had stayed home with their daughter, while his husband- well, ex-husband, had kept working. He didn't expect Chandler to ask for joint custody, but he had hoped he'd want his daughter with him during the weekends at least. He couldn't deny it hurt when Chandler hadn't requested that; he even briefly wondered if Chandler cared enough to see his daughter at all.

Kurt wasn't sure what to do. He only worked freelance for Vogue, writing an article every now and then, but he didn't have a steady income. Sure he had the apartment, but he needed money for food, Emma's physiotherapist and other medical equipment for her. He'd need a steady job, because his savings were going down the drain quickly, but a job also meant he was away from home during the day, so he'd need someone to take care of Emma. He needed his family.


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys!**

**Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and alerts!  
**

**Also, thank you to Themuse19 for the shout out.**

**Before you read this you should now I've made a time jump of six years between this chapter and the last. It's now 2020, Emma is 8, Kurt 32 and Blaine 25.**

**Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 2**

"Emma!" Kurt shook his head as he jogged through the house. "Where are you?" He was late; he needed to leave five minutes ago if he wanted to make it to the appointment on time, but here he was, still at his house, looking for his daughter. It was his eight-year-old's new favorite game, hiding at the most crucial of times. "Emma!"

"Boo!"

He jumped a few inches and turned around, his hands on his hips and a scold on his face. "Emma! I told you to wait in the living room. We need to leave right away."

"I don't want to go to the doctor," the girl pouted.

"I know, Sweetheart, but we need to. You need to get regular check-ups to make sure you're okay."

Emma sighed loudly but turned around and wheeled toward the front door with Kurt close behind her. He swiftly helped her into the car and placed her wheelchair in the trunk before getting in himself. "Are you buckled in?"

"You did it yourself, Papa," she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Just making sure," Kurt murmured under his breath as he started the engine. He checked his daughter in the rearview mirror one last time, making sure she was secure, before backing out of the driveway. "Hey, once we're done at the doctor, we can go for ice cream. Does that sound like fun?"

Emma shrugged noncommittally and turned to look out of the window. Kurt sighed inwardly as he drove. She was loathing these doctor visits more and more lately, but they weren't decreasing anytime soon, he feared. She had had kidney problems since she was born, not an uncommon complication with Spina children. One kidney had failed shortly after her birth, and a few months ago, the other had started malfunctioning. So far they'd been able to stabilize it with medication, but since she was so tired lately, the doctor had insisted on monthly check-ups to keep a close eye on her.

Kurt had been monitoring her catheterization, and he'd noticed she seemed to have a lot less urine these days. He knew she still drank more than enough, so he was sufficiently worried. If her second kidney was failing… well, he didn't want to think about that yet.

"Can I get raspberry?"

"What?" He shook his head to wake up from his musings and caught his daughter's eye through the rear-view mirror.

"Can I get raspberry ice cream?"

Kurt smiled and nodded. "Of course."

…

"I'm sorry," Dr. Jane shook her head as she looked at Kurt and Emma sitting in front of her. "I've got the result from last week's test, and it's not looking good."

"No?" Kurt bit his lip and swallowed. He grabbed his daughter's hand and squeezed it softly. "Do we need to change her medication again?"

Dr. Jane smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm afraid that won't do her any good. Her second kidney is barely working at 20% now."

Kurt gasped and closed his eyes. This had been what he was afraid of. It had been discussed briefly a few months back, but she had reacted well to the medication, so he had pushed it to the back of his mind.

"We're gonna need to start with dialyses, and we need to put her on the donor list."

"What's a dialyses?" Emma looked at her father with wide, wondering eyes.

"You remember when we discussed your kidneys a while back?" Kurt asked softly. She nodded. "Remember I told you only one of your kidneys worked, and you needed to take the medication to help it work properly?"

"The medication isn't working properly anymore. The dialyses is a machine that's gonna help your kidneys to do their work properly until we can find a new kidney for you, one that is capable of doing the work," the doctor continued.

She cocked her head to the side. "I need a new kidney?"

Dr. Jane nodded.

"Oh." She shrugged. "That's it? Can we go for ice cream now?"

Kurt chuckled and smiled at her, pressing a kiss against her temple. "In a minute. Why don't you go to the waiting room to color while the doctor and I discuss the details, okay?"

"Okay," Emma replied as she wheeled backwards and turned around.

"She's very independent and strong," the doctor noted, as she watched the girl open the door and wheel through it swiftly.

Kurt nodded and closed his eyes. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," Dr. Jane opened her file. "Last month her kidney was still working at 65%, and now it's barely 20%. We need to make an appointment to place a catheter later this week and start the dialyses as soon as possible."

"How… how often? Will she need to miss a lot of school?" Kurt asked, his voice trembling.

"We're gonna start with twice a week, Monday and Thursday afternoon. Hopefully we'll find a matching donor quickly." She seemed to hesitate.

"What?"

"I… often, in cases like this, one of the parents is able to donate a kidney. A healthy person only needs one kidney."

"I can give her one of my kidneys?" Kurt's eyes widened. "That's great. I'll do it! When can we plan the operation?"

Dr. Jane shook her head. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. You're not her biological father. We'd need to check your blood type to see if you match."

"Oh," Kurt slumped back in his seat.

"She's blood type B. Ideally, you'd need to also be type B, but we can also use you if you're type O or AB. I can take some blood to test you, if you want."

Kurt nodded. He'd give both his kidneys if that meant his daughter could live properly.

…

Kurt cursed himself. Of course he had type A blood, the one that wasn't compatible with his daughter at all. He looked at Emma, who was lying on the couch, watching a movie. She'd gone to her first dialyses today, and the girl was exhausted. His heart broke as he saw her eyes droop closed. When he'd told his parents the news, both Burt and Carole had immediately offered to help, but neither was an eligible donor due to their age. She needed a kidney from a young person, a kidney that could last her years. She was placed on a waiting list, but the doctor had told him it could take up to five years before they'd find a donor for her.

He had briefly considered asking Chandler, but he hadn't spoken his ex-husband in years. They'd had a huge fight when Kurt decided to move from New York back to Lima so he'd have his parents to support him. Chandler had accused him of keeping Emma away from him on purpose. Kurt had tried to explain he needed someone to help him, someone he trusted, and he couldn't do it on his own in New York, but Chandler had refused to listen. At first he had flown back and forth regularly to visit Emma, but over the years the visits had changed to phone calls and later to cards on Christmas and her birthday. Somewhere down the line Emma had started to call him Chandler instead of Daddy, and Kurt had never corrected her. They were strangers to each other, so why would Chandler be willing to donate a kidney to her?

Kurt sighed as he looked down at the letter in front of him. Over the years he had written several letters to Emma's biological father, Blaine. He had always stayed positive in his letters, saying how she was doing at school, sending him pictures every now and then; he didn't want the boy to worry. He laughed humorlessly to himself at that. This Blaine probably wasn't a boy anymore, even if he saw him like that in his head: a seventeen year old faceless boy with a head of black curls, just like Emma's. He had said in his letter that he was 17 when Emma was born, so that should make him 25 by now. A young man, maybe married and with children of his own by now. Kurt's eyes widened. A young, hopefully healthy man. Who was Emma's biological father.

He grabbed the envelope and stared at the address he'd written a dozen times over the years. "Westerville, Ohio," he whispered. It was only a two-hour drive from Lima, where he and Emma lived. He shook his head. He's gotten this address when Emma was born; maybe this Blaine didn't even live in Westerville anymore. Kurt had written letters, but he'd never put a return address on them, leaving Blaine with no way to contact him. What if he had moved, and the letters he had written over the years were thrown in the garbage can by the new residents of the house? But he had to try. It was for his daughter. Maybe he could contact this Blaine, and convince him to help them. Even if he didn't live there anymore, maybe the new residents knew where he had moved to. He had to try for his daughter. The boy who had written him all these years ago had seemed to be genuinely concerned for Emma.

"Papa?"

Kurt's head shot up, his heart aching at the exhaustion in her voice.

"Can I go to bed?"

"Of course," Kurt nodded as he walked toward the couch. "You want me to carry you?"

She nodded and closed her eyes again. "I need to go to the bathroom first. I need to do the cathing before I go to sleep."

"How about we do it in your room? Like we used to when you where younger? I'll help you tonight."

She nodded and held up her arms so Kurt could carry her. He carefully laid her on her bed and helped her change into her pajamas. He grabbed the catheter and everything he needed for the catheterization and did the motions almost automatically. It had been a while, Emma usually did it herself these days, but he was still fluent at it. He had done it five times every day until she turned six and was taught to do it herself. He finished quickly and tucked the covers close around her body. He pressed a kiss against her cheek and stroked her black curls for a moment. He hated how tired she was. He hated how it wore her out. He just wanted to curl her up against his body and keep her safe from everything. It wasn't fair. He needed to find this Blaine, and convince him to help them, because he didn't want to see his daughter suffer like this for the next few years.

…

A few days later Kurt pulled up at the address in Westerville. He had asked his parents to look after Emma for the day, and after hearing the reason, they quickly agreed. He was nervous. What if this Blaine had changed his mind and didn't want anything to do with him? Or even worse, with Emma?

The house in front of him was on the large side, with a big front lawn and a driveway. Kurt had parked his car at the side of the road and was walking slowly to the front door. He hoped somebody was home. He hadn't thought about that before, but when he didn't see a car in the driveway he started to worry. He guessed he could wait for a while, but he wanted to get back home at a decent hour so he could put Emma to bed himself.

He nervously rang the doorbell and took a calming breath when he heard noises from inside the house. A woman who looked to be in her sixties opened the door and peered curiously at him. "Yes?"

"Uhm, hi!" Kurt extended his hand. "I'm Kurt. Kurt Hummel."

She stared at him with a frown on her face. "Okay?"

Kurt dropped his hand and nervously clasped his hands together in front of him. "I… Does Blaine Anderson live here?"

"That's my son," the woman answered. "Why?"

Kurt closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief. At least Blaine was still here. "Can I, can I speak to him, please?"

The woman blinked. "He doesn't live here anymore, he's moved to New York years ago. Are you a friend of his?"

"Uhm, no, not really. He… uhm," Kurt's heart fell. Blaine was in New York, not here, but surely his mother would understand and give him Blaine's address if he explained why needed it, right? "I… I'm Kurt Hummel, and I… my daughter, Emma, she's uhm… I adopted her, almost 8 years ago."

"Oh," the woman's eyes widened as she seemed to realize who Kurt was.

"Can I maybe have Blaine's address? Or a phone number, so I can contact him?"

"No." The woman shook her head, determined.

"Please, Ma'am. I really need to speak to Blaine. It's about Emma. It's really important."

"Look, Kurt. My son decided to give his daughter up for adoption years ago. It was a closed adoption, and that's it. No contact. I don't even agree with these letters you've been sending for years."

"But, Blaine asked for those letters," Kurt tried to explain. He was so close now; he needed to get Blaine's address or a way to contact him. "Please, I… I wouldn't just ask for no reason."

"I'm gonna ask you to leave now, and not come here again, or I'll contact the adoption agency and report you."

"Please, ma'am," Kurt pleaded. "Just hear me out. I promise you'll understand once I explain."

"And you can stop sending those letters as well. I've stopped forwarding them to Blaine years ago. Goodbye." The woman closed the door in Kurt's face and left the man standing there, speechless. She didn't even give him time to explain. All he found out was that Blaine lived in New York. He almost had to laugh at the irony of that. That was where he had spent the first years of Emma's live together with Chandler. He might have even bumped into Blaine on several occasions without realizing it.

He sighed and slowly turned around to walk back to his car. He had noticed the name on the front door read Anderson, another thing he hadn't known before. Unfortunately Anderson was quite a popular last name. There were probably a dozen Blaine Andersons in New York, but he had to try.

"Hello?"

Kurt was standing at his car, trying to control his tears, when he heard someone call his name. A man who looked around his own age was running down the street and stopped next to him.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I overheard you talking to my mom," the man said hurriedly. "I wasn't sure what I heard, and I doubt it's about what I think it is- I have the habit of blowing things out of proportion- but I had to make sure."

"Blaine?" Kurt frowned at the man standing before him. He was tall (and handsome, Kurt had to admit), he had brown hair that was styled in a perfect coif, and he looked older than Kurt had expected him to be. He remembered the letter he got from Blaine when his daughter was born, and this was not what he had expected, at all. He could see Emma's hazel eyes staring at him though.

"Uhm, no," the man laughed. "I'm Cooper, Blaine's older brother."

"Oh." That made more sense.

"You… you adopted Blaine's baby girl?" The man looked at him with searching eyes.

Kurt bit his bottom lip and nodded. "I, uhm, yeah. Emma."

"Emma," Cooper breathed and a smile formed around his lips. "I always wondered what her name was."

"Blaine never told you?"

Cooper shook his head. "I know you've been sending him letters, but he never shared any of them."

Kurt chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, the letters."

"What?" Cooper cocked his head. "Blaine loves them. He reads them a thousand times and hides them carefully in his box."

"Really?" Kurt heart started to speed up. Maybe he could get to Blaine through Cooper. If he really was worried about Emma, Kurt might have a chance. "Your mother said she stopped forwarding them to Blaine. I always send them here, because it's the only address I have, so…" he trailed off.

Cooper's eyes widened. He seemed surprised at this, which surprised Kurt in return. Maybe he had just encountered the wrong Anderson.

"You wanted to see Blaine," Cooper insisted. "Why?"

"Emma, she's… she has Spina," Kurt said, and Cooper nodded, he knew. "And her kidneys, well, she's always had problems with them. One of her kidneys hasn't worked properly since birth, and the other one has started failing a few months ago. It's been getting worse, and," Kurt took a deep breath and tried to swallow his tears, "she's been on dialyses since last week. She needs a donor, but there's a waiting list of approximately five years."

"Oh," Cooper's eyes widened as he started to get where Kurt was going with this.

"The dialyses- it's hard. She's dead tired afterward; it's taking a lot out of her. I don't… I wanted to give her one of my kidneys, but we're not compatible, and both my parents are too old to be donors, so…" Kurt wiped the tears that were spilling from his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"Hey, don't cry," Cooper put his hands on Kurt's shoulder to squeeze it gently, giving the other man some comfort.

"I'm sorry," Kurt sniffed. "I just, I hate to see her suffer. I shouldn't have shown up like this, but I'm getting desperate."

"Is there any way Blaine can contact you?"

Kurt's head shot up and he looked at Cooper with wide eyes. "I… yes, of course. I can give you my address and phone number."

Cooper nodded and gave his phone to Kurt. "Okay, put it in, and I'll get in touch with Blaine. It's his decision, ultimately, but I'll tell him."

"Oh, my God. Thank you, thank you so much." Kurt added his address and phone number to Cooper's contacts. "I don't know how I can thank you enough."

"And I'll get Mom to forward those letters," he shook his head. "Typical, sticking her nose in stuff that isn't her business."

Kurt nodded again, tears spilling from his eyes. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Kurt replied in an instant.

"Do you have a picture of her?"

Kurt smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He opened his photo app and pulled up a picture from last week when they'd gotten ice-cream after the doctor visit. Cooper looked at it and grinned. "Yup, definitely Blaine's daughter."

…

A week later Kurt was putting Emma's toys away from where they were scattered all over the living room when the bell rang. He frowned, as it was 8pm, and he wasn't expecting anyone. Emma was already in bed, tired after her dialyses session. Luckily she was a heavy sleeper, and the bell hadn't woken her up. Kurt hurried to the front door so they wouldn't ring it again. He opened the door and his eyes widened as he saw the young man in his doorway. He was short, with messy black curls and the same hazel eyes he had seen a week before on Cooper's face and he saw every day at home. "Blaine?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I didn't upload this on Sunday, believe me when I say I had a good reason. I don't know when I'll upload the next chapter, hopefully somewhere next week.**

**Ch3: **

"Blaine?" Kurt breathed.

"Yes, hi!" The man in front of the door showed Kurt a half smile and waved. "I'm assuming you're Kurt."

"I, oh my, God, yes, hi! Come in." Kurt stepped aside to let Blaine pass and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He could already feel the tears beginning to well and scolded himself. All he seemed to do lately was cry. He closed the door and turned around. "Hi, I'm—wow, I'm so glad you're here. Come in, please. Can I get you something to drink?" He gestured to the couch for Blaine to sit down and shook his head to wake up from his daze. He almost felt like he was dreaming, like it was too good to be true. Blaine was here. The biological father of his daughter was here, hopefully to help him.

"I would, actually. I just came from my mother's house and we had an awful fight. There was a lot of screaming and yelling involved, so my throat's a bit sore now." Blaine explained with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kurt bit his lip, and briefly wondered if the fight had something to with him and the letters. "Do you want water or soda?"

"Water's fine," Blaine replied. "And don't be. It's not your fault. My mom needs to stay out of my business. She doesn't get to decide what's good for me anymore, especially not after what she did with the letters."

Kurt nodded as he returned with two glasses and a bottle of sparkling water. "So…" He sat down on the couch next to Blaine. He couldn't help but stare at the man. He was definitely a man, and not the 17-year-old boy he had been imagining in his mind. He did, however, have the mass of curls like Emma, and his growth-spurt seemed to have stayed away, as he was almost a head shorter than Kurt.

"So," Blaine repeated. "I talked to Cooper, and I guess you know why I'm here."

"Emma?" Kurt asked, hopefully.

Blaine nodded and looked around, curiously. "Where is she?"

"She's asleep. She's had dialyses this afternoon and it tires her out. She usually falls asleep on the couch afterwards, so I put her into bed early."

"I, uhm… I want to thank you for your letters. I appreciated them, even if I didn't get the last few." Blaine clasped his hands together. "I… I have them now; I went to my parents house earlier to get them. She, uhm… Emma, I mean… she means a lot to me. I know that sounds probably weird, since I gave her up for adoption, but I never stopped thinking about her."

Kurt smiled and grabbed his glass, gulping the water down quickly. His throat felt dry and scratchy, and he needed something to hold onto. "When was the last letter you've gotten?"

Blaine ran his hand through his hair. "Three years ago, I think, after I graduated from college and officially moved out. I just, I assumed you didn't want to write anymore."

"Oh, no, Blaine, no," Kurt put down his glass and carefully reached out to squeeze the younger man's shoulder. "Never. I would never do that. I, if you had requested for an open adoption I would have been okay with that."

Blaine sighed and shot him a half smile. "I think this was for the best, truly. I just, I think about her, you know."

Kurt bit his lip and smiled back, hopefully. "Thanks."

"So, let's just talk about the big elephant in the room," Blaine suddenly announced. "You need me to donate one of my kidneys?"

Kurt swallowed. Right into the heavy talk, but maybe that was a good thing. "Uhm, yeah, basically, if you're compatible."

"Can you, explain it to me? From the beginning? You never really wrote much about her medical procedures, and I don't remember anything about kidneys."

"Yes, of course. I always, I tried to focus on her life. How she was happy, how well she was doing. I didn't want you to worry," Kurt said, nervously looking away from Blaine, afraid that if he said the wrong thing Blaine would change his mind.

"And I appreciate it," Blaine answered. "I understand, but I want to know before I donate one of my kidneys. I think I deserve that."

"Oh, yeah, naturally. I…" Kurt faltered. Did he hear Blaine correctly? "You want to donate your kidney for her?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't be here otherwise, would I?" Blaine asked, as if it were obvious.

"I… I don't know," Kurt blinked furiously and pressed his lips tightly together. "I'm just, God, sorry." He wiped away his tears with the back of his hand.

"Hey, it's okay," Blaine suddenly moved closer and wrapped his arms around Kurt. "It's okay. It's okay." He softly stroked Kurt's back.

"I'm sorry," Kurt sniffed. "I just, I hate to see her suffer like this, and the thought that it could get better really soon, I just… God, I'm sorry." He pulled back and pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. "I just ruined your shirt."

Blaine shrugged. "I can wash it."

Kurt chuckled and shook his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Okay, so let me explain. Emma's illness, Spina Bifida, comes with some complications. She was born with malfunctioning kidneys. One hasn't worked properly since birth, but the other worked fairly well. Not perfectly, but it was kept under control with medication. The last few months though, it went downhill. She tired more quickly, she was apathic, and she didn't pee enough. She can't feel when she needs to use the bathroom, and she needs to do urinary catheterization, so it's easier to keep track of how much urine she makes."

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I read that on the Internet. I Googled Spina a lot when I found out she had it."

"Okay," Kurt said. "So we went to the doctor, for her biannual checkup, and they discovered her second kidney was only working at 20%. So they told us she needed dialyses immediately, and she'd be put on a waiting list for a donor, only the wait list can take up to five years. I don't want her to suffer from the dialyses for five years. Our doctor said that parents often donated a kidney to their child, so they tested me, but I have a different blood type. Her body would reject my kidney. My parents offered as well, but they're too old to donate for a child, and then I thought of you…" he trailed off.

"I don't want to impose," Blaine said, hesitantly, "and it's obviously none of my business, but what about your husband? Wasn't he compatible either?"

"My husband?" Kurt looked lost for a moment. "Oh, no, uhm, Chandler and I got divorced, like four years ago. He's out of the picture."

Blaine, who had just taken a sip of water, started spluttering and coughing. "Jeez, I'm sorry, I did not expect that. You never mentioned anything."

Kurt shrugged. "It's the reason we moved from New York back to Lima. I couldn't do it on my own, and I have my parents here to support me."

"I'm sorry."

"I… don't be. It's not your fault. Chandler just couldn't handle being a father. It's okay now." Kurt looked at Blaine with a soft smile on his lips. "You don't have to decide right away, you know. You can think about it. I know it's a lot."

Blaine shook his head. "No, I'll do it. I can save her life with it. How could I not do it? I might have given her up for adoption, but I loved her. I love her," he corrected himself. "Is that weird? Loving someone you don't even know?" He shook his head. "I guess it is, but it's how I feel."

"It's—natural, I think. Even if you don't know her, she's a part of you. I can see it very clearly when I look at you."

Blaine's expression softened and he bit his lip. "Do you have a recent picture? If it's okay, I'd like to see it."

"Of course," Kurt grabbed his phone and showed Blaine the same picture he'd shown Cooper a week earlier.

Blaine smiled as he saw it. "I'm sorry about the hair. I swear I hoped she'd get Rachel's hair."

"I love her hair. It's beautiful. I'm glad to see you seem to have lost the hair gel over the years."

Blaine grimaced. "I almost felt threatened at that first letter you sent me. _Dear Blaine, if you think I'll ever suffocate my daughter's beautiful curls with that hair-killing substance you have another think coming. Moderation is the key, and mousse for curly hair. Gel, the horror. Now I imagine you like one of those horrible greasers of the fifties with a coif a la Danny, from 'Grease',_" he quoted.

Kurt laughed, actually laughed at this. It felt good to have the heavy talk out of the way, and Blaine's statement had lightened the atmosphere.

"I'll have you know I rocked the fifties look at my senior prom. I looked dashing." Blaine put his chin high in the air and looked proud of himself. "I'll show you the pictures someday."

Kurt shook his head. "Don't, it'll give me nightmares."

Blaine grinned broadly, but turned serious again after a few moments. "I'm glad it was you that adopted her. You clearly love her deeply."

"I do," Kurt replied. "She's my world."

"I'm glad." He sighed contently. "So you can contact your doctor, and tell him you found a donor."

Kurt frowned. "They still have to test you first. It's possible she has her mother's blood type, and you're not compatible either."

Blaine face fell. "Okay, than set up an appointment, as soon as possible, okay? I want her to be as healthy as she can be."

"I'll call her doctor first thing in the morning," Kurt promised. "Is there any way I can contact you? Where are you staying?"

"Oh," Blaine's eyes widened. "Uhm, I don't know, actually. I planned to stay at my parents' house, but that didn't really work out. I guess I'll just stay at a motel or something. I can give you my phone number."

"You don't have a place to stay?" Kurt asked, concerned.

"It's no big deal. I went straight to my parents when I got off the plane, but as I told you, we got into a huge fight. Cooper lent me his car, so I drove here after that…" he trailed off. "Do you know any affordable motels close by?"

"No way," Kurt answered resolutely. "You are not staying at a motel. I have a lovely couch, so you can have my bed for the time being, while I camp out here."

"Kurt, I can't take your bed. You need your rest," Blaine denied. "It's okay, I'm sure I can afford a few weeks in a motel."

"No, Blaine, please," Kurt pleaded. "You are doing so much for us already. I'm not letting you stay in a filthy motel. That would be a waste of money. Stay, please. If it bothers you, I'll get a camp bed from my dad tomorrow and set it up in Emma's room, so I can sleep there."

Blaine shook his head. "Okay, but let me sleep on the couch, please. I would feel bad if I slept in your bed."

Kurt frowned, not completely happy with the idea of letting his guest sleep on the couch, but he guessed it would do for the moment. Maybe he could convince Blaine otherwise tomorrow. "Okay, just let me grab some blankets and a pillow for you. Oh, God, you probably haven't even had time to freshen up after the plane, did you?"

Blaine shrugged.

"Please, the bathroom is back there. Feel free to shower if you want."

"Actually, that does sound good," Blaine admitted. "I'll go get my bag; it's in the car." He quickly jogged outside and was back within two minutes. "Now that you've mentioned it, I feel grungy. It was so hot in New York when I left, and then the air-conditioning on the plane wasn't working properly, plus I bought my tickets at the last minute, so I was squished in the middle seat."

Kurt nodded and scrunched his nose as he suddenly realized something. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I got some McDonalds on the way here."

"That's disgusting, Blaine. That's not even proper food. Please!" Kurt rolled his eyes. This man was clearly lacking a proper girlfriend to guide him through life. "I'll heat up some of the chicken with curry and rice we had for dinner."

Blaine wanted to protest, but his grumbling stomach beat him to the punch. He shrugged half-heartedly and grinned. "That does sound pretty good."

"I let you know I'm a great cook," Kurt smiled at Blaine. "The shower is back there; towels are under the large sink. Feel free to use any of my stuff that's on the top shelf in the shower. You're also free to use the stuff on the bottom shelf, but somehow I doubt you'll want to smell like raspberry shower gel."

Blaine shrugged. "I like raspberries."

Kurt, who was opening the fridge, stopped and turned around to look at Blaine, curiously. "Hmm, yes. I… Emma does as well."

"Oh," Blaine frowned. "I… if this is uncomfortable for you, I can go. We don't have to be like…" he gestured between them, looking for the right words.

"Friends?" Kurt asked, cocking his head.

"I… uhm, yeah?" Blaine asked, unsure. "I mean, I like you; you're cool, but I get it if this is like weird for you."

"No," Kurt shook his head. "It's okay. It's just—new. I never had someone to compare her with."

Blaine nodded. "I'll… I'll be in the shower."

Kurt hummed and turned back around to grab the chicken as Blaine went to the bathroom. As he closed the door behind him, he leaned against it and closed his eyes to take a deep breath before getting undressed to shower. Of all the things that he had expected of today, this certainly wasn't it. He had gone to his parents' house in the hope of talking about all this with his mom before he came here. He had thought she'd understand. She'd always supported him with the adoption, so he figured Cooper must have been wrong when he called him and told him their mother was keeping the letters from him. He was sure it was a misunderstanding, and she'd get why he was coming back and helping Kurt and his daughter. She knew how difficult it had been for Blaine to give his daughter away, and he was sure she knew he loved his daughter—Emma. He shook his head, and repeated her name over and over in his head. Emma. His Emma, was here. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. As he stepped into the shower he couldn't resist grabbing the raspberry shampoo from the bottom shelf. It was bright pink, as was everyone else on her shelf, and he briefly wondered if that was intentional. Did she love pink? Was her room painted pink? He used to know this stuff, Kurt wrote a lot of details in his letters, but he hadn't read any of them the last three years. He was gonna read them tonight, he promised himself.

He quickly washed and as he stepped out of the shower he chuckled to himself. Kurt had mentioned the towels were under the large sink, but he hadn't fully realized what it meant until now. There was a regular sink, with a cabinet underneath it from which Blaine grabbed a towel. Next to that one, a bit lower, was a second sink, clearly adapted for Emma. Blaine could see she could ride under it with her wheelchair. He then realized the shower was also walk in, no height difference, and the lower shelf was probably at Emma's height.

He quickly got dressed and walked back to the kitchen through the living room. He started to realize a lot of the house was specially adapted for Emma. The DVDs on the lower shelf where obviously hers, as were the books. There was one large couch in the living room, but it wasn't in the center in front of the TV. It was situated a bit to the side, with a small table next to it, and he assumed that the other side of the coffee table was for Emma's wheelchair.

In the kitchen he saw a space at the kitchen table without a chair, and a small ramp, so she'd be at a good height to eat from the table. "That is so cool," he exclaimed as he took a seat at the table and grabbed a fork to dive in the food Kurt had warmed for him.

"What is?" Kurt took a seat opposite him and looked curiously.

"How everything is like, fitted for Emma. This is mighty good, by the way."

"Told you I was a good cook," Kurt said, smugly. "And yes, everything is adapted to her, so she can be independent."

"It's so cool," Blaine repeated. "She can just roll into the shower, and up to the table here. It's amazing," he shook his head. "I mean, look at that, you even have a lower sink in the kitchen for her."

Kurt laughed. "Yeah, she doesn't like that one so much. It's for her chores, so she can do the dishes."

Blaine snorted. "Yeah, I can see why she wouldn't like that very much. It's just, it's cool to actually see everything. I mean, I read about it in your letters, but actually seeing it, it's… I don't know. You really care."

Kurt smiled. "Of course I do; she's my daughter. I love her more than anything. And I got lucky. One of my high school friends is a handyman and he did a lot of the work when I moved in here."

"That's great. It's really great. I'm glad she got such a good home." He couldn't have hoped for a better situation; he was really glad she had ended up with Kurt.

"I took the liberty of preparing a bed on the couch for you while you were in the shower," Kurt said. "I hope you don't mind. I'd like to go to bed. I need to get up early to help Emma prepare for school and all."

"So, what time does she usually wake up?"

"Around 7:30," Kurt answered.

"Okay, I'll make sure I'm out of your way then."

"Oh, uhm, you don't have to," Kurt said, biting his lip. "I mean, I… you can meet her. I don't really want to tell her you're her biological father right away; I know she'll ask questions eventually if everything goes right, but yeah…"

Blaine took a deep breath. "I, thanks, that's very nice of you, but I'm not—sure."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kurt said, apologizing. "I shouldn't have assumed. You chose a closed adoption, I should have realized."

"No, it's not that, it's just…" Blaine faltered.

Kurt hesitated, not wanting to come off as too forward, or giving the wrong idea to Blaine, but the man hadn't seem to hesitate to comfort him earlier when he was crying, so he reached over and gently squeezed Blaine's hand.

"I… Rachel insisted on the closed adoption, as did my mom." He paused for a moment. "I had a hard time with it. Hence the reason I sent you the letter. I agreed eventually, because if I couldn't be in her life full, I just… It would be difficult for me not to be in her life like I wanted, but still see her."

"Okay."

"I… I'm just afraid if I see her, if I get to know her, I won't be able to let go of her after this is over."

"Blaine, I…" Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand before pulled back and wrung his hands together. "I don't expect you to just disappear after this. You can be in her life, if that's what you want."

"But the adoption…" Blaine trailed off.

"It's just papers, Blaine. It was a closed adoption, because that's what you guys wanted. If you want to be in her life, you can be."

Blaine frowned. "Are you sure, because, I'm sorry if this sounds suspicious, but, you never put a return address on those letters you sent me."

Kurt sat back in his chair. "I, no, I didn't. I didn't because at the beginning, Chandler didn't like it when I wrote to you. I wasn't even planning on telling him at first, but he found the letters in my bag. He didn't want to write you."

Blaine grimaced. He didn't know much about this Chandler, but he wasn't liking him very much so far.

"So I compromised and promised I wouldn't put a return address on the envelope, so you wouldn't find us. After he left… I don't know. I guess part of me was afraid that it'd been too long and you wouldn't care anymore. Putting a return address on the envelope, it made me vulnerable. I… Chandler leaving, it shook me, hard. I didn't see it coming. We were married, and I thought we were forever…"

"I get it. You're afraid of people leaving."

Kurt nodded. "Especially with Emma. It's not easy for her, being like she is. She gets teased in school. People stare at her on the streets. I don't want to let her down if I can help it. I want to let you in, I'm okay with you meeting her, but it needs to be for real."

"I… Let me sleep on it?"

"Okay," Kurt agreed. "Like I said, she gets up at 7:30, so either you'll be here, or I'll call you later to arrange everything." Kurt got up and softly squeezed Blaine's shoulder as he walked past him.

Blaine hummed in agreement. He assumed he wouldn't get much sleep tonight. He had a lot to think about.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry it took me forever and a day to put this online. My life is a mess right now. I can't make any promises when I'll upload the next chapter, but I am working on it.**

**I'm behind on review replies, but I'm gonna start again from this chapter, so fire all your questions away!**

**I hope you're all still here, and I hope you like this chapter.**

**x**

CH 4

Blaine was tossing and turning on the couch, trying to get comfortable, or maybe just trying to calm down, because the couch itself was pretty comfortable. The problem was that his mind wouldn't stop reeling. He's here, in Kurt's house, and his daughter is probably about twenty feet away from him, and he has no fucking clue what to do. It would be so easy to get up in the morning and just see her, get to know her. He can totally be a fun uncle, right? Only, that's not what he wants. He doesn't want to be an uncle to his own daughter. That's still how he sees her, as his daughter. It doesn't matter that he gave her up for adoption; she's his. His blood. A piece of paper doesn't change that. He'd tried to talk to Rachel about it once, but she didn't seem to feel the same way.

He turned on his back and stares at the ceiling. He wants to know her, if he's honest with himself. He does, but he's afraid he wants to know her too badly. He gave her up, after all, so he doesn't have any right to be her father. He signed that right away almost 8 years ago. He should have been persistent with his wishes. He wanted a more open adoption, to at least know how his daughter was doing, but Rachel and his mom wouldn't listen. He considered himself lucky Kurt had written him all those letters. Speaking of which, he still had a handful of them he hadn't read before, the ones his mom had kept hidden. He jumped off the couch and walked to the bag standing in the corner, rummaging through it until he found the leather binder he used to keep them all safe. He had shoved the new ones in earlier, eager to get away from his mom, so he unloaded them all now to sort through them properly.

_January 2012_

_Dear Blaine,_

_My name is Kurt, and I'm the adoptive father of your baby girl, together with my husband, Chandler. I don't know if they told you we were a same-sex couple. I hope they did, and if not, I hope you're okay with it._

_Thank you for giving us our daughter. We named her Emma. I hope you like it._

_Emma's doing great so far. She's a real fighter. The doctor's just told us we can take her home in a few days. I do hope she likes her room. I didn't want to be to stereotypical, so I painted it in a soft green. There are all kinds of animal stickers on the wall. I'll send you a picture once she gets home, so you can see how happy she is in it. _

_She's six weeks old now, and she started to recognize my voice. I sing a lot to her, and lately she's started to turn her head in my direction whenever I do it. She seems to like Broadway classics the best._

_I'm so glad I get to hold her now. The first few weeks we couldn't hold her, because her back had to heal. Trust me, the first time I held her in my hands, I cried. It was magical._

_By the way, if you think I'll ever suffocate my daughter's beautiful curls with that hair-killing substance you have another think coming. Moderation is the key, and mousse for curly hair. Gel, the horror. Now I imagine you as one of those horrible greasers of the fifties with a coif a la Danny, from "Grease"._

_I think I should end my letter with this, before you think I'm a crazy psychopath. I'll write to you, but I can't promise how often. I will keep you in the loop though. I understand you're worried. I would be too._

_Kind regards, Kurt._

Blaine frowned as he reread the first letter Kurt wrote to him years ago. He never noticed before, but except for the first two paragraphs, he never mentioned Chandler. It was always 'I'; never 'we'. It made him wonder. He scanned the next few letters, but it was the same. The first few contained a 'we' here and there, but after that it was always just Kurt. He wondered exactly why their marriage had ended, and if it had anything to do with Emma.

He grabbed one of the newer letters and opened it, curious to see what was in it.

_Dear Blaine,_

_Emma started first grade last week. I was so afraid. Children can be horribly cruel. It all turned out okay, though. Luckily some friends from kindergarten started in the same class. My dad says I worry too much, but I guess that's my job, right?_

_She's learning to read at school. It's weird to see how quickly she learns. Well, they all do, probably, but it's still weird to see her do it. Soon she'll be reading me bedtime stories instead of the other way around. _

_She's also started taking singing lessons a month or two ago. I guess she got tired of hearing my voice all the time, and decided she needed to outshine me. Let me tell you, she does not need lessons for that. She has a voice with a capital V. One of these days I'll try to record it and send you a sample. She owns the stage; she really does. I guess I'll be hearing a lot more Top 40 songs from now on, although she does appreciate the classics. (We watched "The Sound Of Music" for the umpteenth time last night.)_

_Tomorrow Jamie is coming over for a playdate. She's just known her for a week, but they're already inseparable, according to the teacher. I'm glad she has friends like that, and I hope they stick with her. I know I worry too much, but I can't help it. I'm planning to let them help me make pizzas. The kitchen will be a mess, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. I'll try to remember to send you a picture of her creation next time._

_Kind regards, Kurt._

Blaine smiled as he opened the next letter and saw indeed a picture of Emma and another girl, both covered in flour, but with proud matching grins on their faces as they showed a pizza to the camera, and another one with Emma playfully feeding Kurt a piece of her pizza. Blaine frowned. It was the first picture Kurt had sent of himself, and Blaine had never seen it until now. Kurt looked… happy… gorgeous even. He shook his head- this was not the time to start thinking about stuff like that- and put the pictures back in the envelope. He'd read the rest of them tomorrow. He really should get some rest.

…

"Blaine?" Kurt came into the kitchen, surprised to find Blaine at the stove. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Kurt," Blaine turned around to shoot Kurt a lopsided smile before focusing his attention back to the task at hand. "I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd cook you guys some breakfast."

"Ah." Kurt observed Blaine as he grabbed the pot of coffee and poured himself a generous cup. It had been a while since someone cooked him breakfast, and he had to admit, it felt good, almost domestic, and it was not like Blaine was a bad sight to look at. Even with his hair sticking out at various angles and his sweatpants low on his hips, showing that little bit of skin before his shirt began. Not a bad sight at all. He sat down at the table, already put ready for breakfast, and took a sip. "It's good."

"Thanks," Blaine answered. "I do love my coffee in the morning."

"What are you making?"

"French toast and scrambled eggs," Blaine turned around to put the pan of scrambled eggs on the table. "I raided your fridge; I hope that's okay."

"Hey, you're planning to give my daughter a kidney; you could take my fridge home with you for all I care."

Blaine laughed and refilled his own cup before joining Kurt at the table. "I, uhm… I want to meet her, if that's still okay?" he asked, a little unsure.

Kurt nodded. "I figured as much. I thought about it." He saw Blaine panicking. "About how we're going to do this," he quickly added. "I don't mind that you meet her, but I think we should lay down some ground rules."

"Yeah, sounds reasonable," Blaine agreed.

"Right, so I don't want to tell her who you are, not right away, at least. I want to tell her you're an old friend of mine who's crashing on the couch for a while because he needs a place to stay."

Blaine nodded.

"Now, she's smart, and God, you look an awful lot like her, so she might suspect something, but if she asks questions, I'd love it if you could let me do the explaining. If there's anything I can't explain, or I don't know, I promise I'll ask you, and I won't make anything up, but she's my daughter, and it's my responsibility to explain things, okay?" Kurt took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally for the next thing he was about to say. "That brings me to a second thing, she is my daughter. I know biologically she's yours, and I don't mind that you get to know her, but she's my daughter. I raised her, I fed her, I changed her diapers, I care for her when she's sick… I just, I don't want you to get a wrong idea, okay?"

"I, Yeah, of course," Blaine answered. "I get it. It's not like have any legal rights anyway. You make the rules here, Kurt, I understand that."

Kurt nodded. "Good, I just… I'm setting myself up for a whole lot of possible pain here, and I… Well I want to be clear with you." He exhaled loudly, glad to have that off his chest.

"What about the obvious?" Blaine asked. "Do you tell her about the reason I'm here? Or not until the doctor approved me as a donor?"

"I think we should be honest, we should tell her," Kurt said, decisive.

"Okay," Blaine breathed deeply. "Okay, we tell her."

"You tell me what?"

Both men jumped slightly at the voice that suddenly interrupted them. Blaine gasped as he saw the young girl: hazel eyes, a bunch of black curls, and staring at them with a slightly confused, but curious look on her face.

"Emma, hey, you're out of the bathroom quickly," Kurt said, his voice higher than usual. "Did you brush your teeth?"

"I do that after breakfast, Papa, remember?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Hmm, right," Kurt nodded. "So, come, eat. Blaine made us breakfast."

"And who is Blaine?" she repeated her questions as she rolled to the table and grabbed the juice box Blaine had placed on the table for her. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Blaine nearly choked on his coffee at that comment. He had definitely not seen that coming.

"No, Sweetie, no," Kurt shook his head. "No, Blaine is an old friend of mine."

"Oh?" she raised her eyes as Kurt scooped up some scrambled eggs and put them on her plate alongside a piece of toast.

"Yes," Kurt continued. "Blaine is here because… well, because of you, actually. We're going to see if he's a viable donor for you."

Emma's eyes widened and she looked at Blaine curiously. "Really?"

Blaine smiled and nodded. "Really."

"But, why?"

Blaine opened his mouth to reply but closed it again quickly. That was a good question. One that he couldn't answer with 'because I'm your biological father and even though I gave you up for adoption I still love you very much', so he looked at Kurt helplessly.

"Because he and I are friends, and he wants to help you," Kurt supplied.

"But, he doesn't know me," she replied before turning to Blaine. "I don't know you. Why do you want to give me a kidney?"

"I don't know you, but I know your papa, and he's told me a whole lot about you," Blaine explained. "So I feel like I know you a little bit through him. I know you're a lovely young girl, and I know you deserve a life as healthy as possible, and I want to help you with that."

She frowned as she took a bite from her toast. "Why are you in your pajamas?"

"Well, Blaine lives in New York," Kurt supplied. "So he's crashing on the couch for the time."

Emma looked thoughtful as she took another bite. "So what do you do?"

Kurt smiled at this, knowing this was his daughter accepting Blaine, accepting that he was now in her life, for however long it turned out to be. She was curious, so he expected a load of questions to follow after this one.

"Well…" Blaine started to smile broadly. "I'm kind of an actor."

"Kind of?" Kurt raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his answer.

Blaine hummed. "I'm still working my way up. I'm mostly doing theatre."

"Papa and I love plays!" Emma chirped. "We go to them all of the time."

"You do?" Blaine asked. "What's your favorite?"

"Hmm," she thought deeply. "Probably _The Sound Of Music_. Papa sings _Edelweiss_ the best, but my favorite is _My Favorite Things_!"

Kurt chuckled. "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens."

"Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens," Emma half-sung, half-shouted, back.

"Brown paper packages tied up with strings! These are few of my favorite things," Blaine sang perfectly in tune.

Emma's eyes lit up as she heard Blaine sing her favorite song and Kurt looked rather impressed at Blaine's perfect pitch. "Not bad," he complimented as Blaine finished the first verse.

Blaine grinned and blushed lightly. "_The_ _Sound of Music_ is great. It's a classic."

"So what are you playing now?" Emma asked.

"I… uhm, nothing major," Blaine ducked his head and rubbed the side of his neck. "I played the alternate for Sky in _Mamma Mia_."

"Oh, I love that movie," Kurt said. "Meryl Streep is an icon! Where are you playing, anywhere I would know?"

"The… uhm… the Winter Garden Theatre."

Kurt's eyes widened and he almost choked on his coffee. "You're an alternate on Broadway?"

Blaine hummed and sipped on his own coffee.

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed. "That's, wow… that's huge!"

"What's a broadway?" Emma asked, curiously looking between her father and Blaine.

"It's…" Kurt pondered for a moment. "It's what they call the best theatres in New York City."

"Oh," Emma nodded as she finished her toast. "All done!"

"That's great, Sweetie, now go brush your teeth so I can drop you off at school."

Emma nodded and wheeled away as Kurt turned his attention back to Blaine. "Broadway, really?"

Blaine shrugged in response. "I'm only the alternate."

"It's still Broadway. How often have you played the role?"

"15 times so far," Blaine smiled. "I've only been the alternate for 2 months now, but I really like it."

"I bet you do. Gosh, Blaine, Broadway. How are you here than? Did they just give you time off?"

Blaine slowly shook his head. "I asked the understudy to cover for me for a while. I said there were some family issues I had to deal with. He understood. As long as I don't stay away too long it shouldn't be a problem."

Kurt shook his head, disbelieving. Blaine had given up acting on a Broadway stage to come all the way back to Ohio, for a daughter he didn't even know. Kurt didn't know what to think of it. "I'm gonna call the doctor and get an appointment. I'm gonna drive Emma to school and stop by work for a little while. I already mailed my articles yesterday, but I like to go over them with the editor, see if any changes are needed. I work for a local newspaper, by the way, I don't think I've mentioned that."

"Oh, okay, what uhm… what do you want me to do?"

Kurt shrugged. "Whatever you want. You can stay here, or you can come with me."

Blaine nodded. "I… is it okay if I stay here? I want to read those letters first."

"Okay," Kurt hesitated for a moment. "I have a few photo albums, if you want to see them."

"I, yes, I would." Blaine smiled softly. "Is it okay I use your shower again?"

"Of course, Blaine. Feel free to use whatever you need for as long as you stay with us, okay?" Kurt answered.

…

"…so, if your blood type matches Emma, we'll have to test your kidneys to see if they're functioning properly, and if they are we'll schedule the operation," Dr. Jane explained as she drew a tube of blood from Blaine's vein. "I hope to get the results by Monday."

Blaine nodded as he looked the other way.

"Not a fan of needles?" the doctor asked.

"Nope," Blaine answered. "Hate them, but it's for a good cause."

"It is," Dr. Jane answered. "I think you're doing a very selfless deed, willing to donate a kidney to a child you don't even know. I'm sure Kurt and Emma will be forever grateful."

"We are," Kurt agreed.

"I can't even imagine not doing this," Blaine replies, as he shook his arm to get rid of the numb feeling.

"Not everyone would think like this," the doctor said. "Well, that's it so far. I'll call Kurt when I get the results, and if all goes well, we'll schedule our next meeting then, to discuss the details."

Kurt and Blaine each shook the doctor's hand before leaving. Blaine followed Kurt, who swiftly walked through the hospital halls, as he was used to them. He shook his head as they got back to the car. "It's a maze in there. I would be so lost if it weren't for you."

"You get used to it." Kurt shrugged.

Blaine was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I guess."

Kurt bit his lip. He didn't want to make it awkward for Blaine, but he didn't want to hide the truth either. He loved his daughter with all his heart, but it wasn't easy. He probably knew the hospital better than some people who worked there. "It's almost time to pick Emma up from school. Do you want to come?"

Blaine nodded as Kurt backed out of the parking lot. "How hard is it?"

"What?"

Doing what you do, taking care of Emma on your own."

Kurt sighed. "It's not easy, but my parents help me a lot, and I'm lucky I have a job that allows me to work from home a lot."

A heavy silence fell between them.

"It's worth it," Kurt suddenly said. "Whenever I see her laugh or play with her friends, whenever she smiles at me, it makes it all worth it."

"I'm glad you adopted her," Blaine said softly. "I can't imagine a lot of people doing what you do."

Kurt hummed. "Yes… well."

Another silence fell between them, but it was slightly more comfortable this time, until Kurt spoke up. "It's Friday, and we have a whole free weekend to fill. I think we should do some fun stuff, so you can get to know her."

Blaine nodded. "Sounds good."

...

**Love, Joyce**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guess who's back, back again. Guess who's back, tell all friends!**  
**(I might be a little exited because I get too see Eminem this summer, sue me.)**

**Seriously now, again, I'm sorry it took me forever to update. I hope to go back to regular Sunday updates starting today (okay, it's almost 1am here on a Monday, but I bet for most of you it's still Sunday!). Life's been hard, my grandpa was in the hospital for almost 6 weeks, and then he passed away, so I think you can understand why I didn't spent much time on my laptop. I hope to get back into the flow of writing soon, but even if I don't, I still have everything til chapter 11 written, it only needs to be beta'd, so I'm gonna do my very best to get that done!**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

CH 5

Kurt smiled gently to himself as he saw Blaine make silly faces to make Emma laugh. It was working, since the girl was laughing so hard she had to grip her stomach and couldn't even wheel forward properly. Blaine swiftly grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and started pushing her rapidly, maneuvering between the unevenness on the path with quick turns, which made her laugh even harder. He stopped abruptly in front of the ice cream stand and ordered three cones before Kurt could even protest.

"Thanks." Kurt shook his head as Blaine handed him a raspberry ice cream cone. "Figures."

"Raspberry is the best of the best!" Emma proclaimed loudly, with Blaine nodding fervently beside her.

"Nope." Kurt shook his head. "Lemon."

"Yuck." Emma stuck out her tongue and made a face, making Blaine laugh loudly this time.

"Okay, what's next?" Blaine asked eagerly. Kurt was touched to see how interested Blaine was in every facet of Emma's life. He had been full of questions when the three of them had gone to Emma's physiotherapy that morning. He watched as Anne took her through numerous exercises designed to maintain flexibility in her legs.

"Can we go to the playground, Papa? Can we?"

"Of course, it's only a five minute walk," Kurt agreed as Emma wheeled away, the two adults following closely behind.

"How does that work?" Blaine asked curiously as he and Kurt sped up their pace to keep up with her. "With the seesaw and swing, and all?"

"Don't underestimate her," Kurt chuckled. "The swing and seesaw are off limits, but they have a bunch of panels she loves to play with. She also loves the sandbox, like really loves it! And there's always some of her friends here, especially on a Saturday afternoon. They play hide and seek, and tag."

Blaine nodded. "I can't wait to see."

"My dad has a special swing for her in their backyard," Kurt mentioned. "She loves it."

"He does? That's so cool."

Kurt hummed. "Last year, for her birthday, we went to this 'boundless playground' close to Westerville. It's a playground especially adapted for kids with special needs, and she absolutely adored the swing." He smiled fondly at the memory. "It's a two-hour drive, so it's not something we could do every weekend. My dad bought her one after that, as a late birthday present. I told him not to, said it was way too expensive, but he didn't agree and said he had only one grandchild to spoil anyway."

"I'd love to see it, if you don't mind," Blaine said. "You don't have any brothers or sisters?"

"Of course, maybe somewhere next week," Kurt replied. "And I do, I have a step-brother, but he doesn't have any children… yet." Kurt paused. "I don't know if it would be safe for him to have any at all. His eye-hand coordination isn't exactly flawless."

Blaine laughed loudly as they reached the playground. Emma was already talking excitedly to a few girls as Blaine and Kurt got settled on a nearby bench. Kurt closed his eyes and leaned back so his face was fully exposed to the sun. He hummed contentedly and smiled. "This is why I moisturize like an idiot, you know. So I can have afternoons like this, where I can just sit in the sun and enjoy it."

"Your skin is perfect," Blaine blurted out, and Kurt opened his eyes to smile at him broadly.

"Thank you."

Blaine ducked his head and blushed. Kurt wanted to say something more, but he was interrupted by Emma and Lizzie, who wanted to arrange a play date for the next weekend, and Blaine's compliment got pushed to the back of his mind.

The next hour went by quietly. Eventually Emma got Blaine to join her and her friends in a game of hide and seek, and Kurt watched them intently. He could already see that Emma was growing closer to Blaine, she was getting attached to him, and he had to admit he was as well. Blaine was an amazing person: genuinely nice, a gentleman, playful, but serious when he needed to be. To summarize it, he was just easy to love. He knew he would have to tell Emma who Blaine was eventually, and he could only hope she took it well. He desperately wanted Blaine to stay in their lives. He would be an amazing role model for Emma, and Kurt could see himself and Blaine become best friends as well. Around five he gathered them both and said they'd need to get home for dinner. He wasn't sure who was more disappointed, but the idea of pizza for take-out seemed to appeal to both of them, so they started walking home without too much protesting.

After the pizza, Kurt had turned on one of Emma's favorite princess movies, _Tangled_. She had settled on the floor in front of the TV, her Barbies gathered around her as she acted out the scenes with her dolls, singing along to every song.

Blaine went to take a shower as Kurt gathered the dishes and put them in the sink. He could hear Emma's singing voice grow softer, and as he glanced at the clock he could see it was nearing her bed time.

"Emma, you have to see this!" Blaine almost slipped in his hurry to get back to the living room. "I didn't remember packing this, but I assure you, you will love it."

Kurt was greeted with a howl of laughter from Emma when he went to see what was going on. Blaine was sitting across from her on the floor in his sweats and a tank top, (not a bad sight, Kurt had to admit, even if it was a bit dressed down for his taste) and around his neck a bowtie. A beige bowtie adorned with bright pink raspberries, as Kurt noticed on closer inspection.

"That's ridiculous," Emma said between hiccups.

"What?" Blaine's eyes widened and a pout appeared on his lips. "Take that back."

"Never!" Emma challenged him, and she squealed Blaine's name loudly as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder while he ran through the living room with her. He gently threw her on the couch and started tickling her mercilessly. "Blai—Blaine!" she squealed between bursts of laughter, smiling from ear to ear.

"That's what you get for insulting my bowtie," he exclaimed. "I thought you'd like it."

Emma giggled. "It's a bowtie with raspberries! Papa, tell him it's ridiculous."

"Pssht," Blaine sat down on the couch next to her and helped her sit straight. "You're ridiculous."

"You're both ridiculous," Kurt said as he pressed a kiss against the top of Emma's head before settling on the other side of her. "But I have to admit, when you said you had the coolest thing to show, I hadn't expected this."

"But, it's… raspberries!" Blaine protested. He looked at Emma. "You love raspberries."

"Not on clothes!" she exclaimed, as she started giggling again. "Except maybe on my pajamas."

"I taught her some fashion sense, you know," Kurt said, shaking his head fondly as he saw Emma lean into Blaine, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "I'll have you know that I used to work for Vogue."

"You did?" Blaine looked impressed as he pulled Emma in his lap and cuddled her close.

Kurt nodded. "When we used to live in New York." He smiled as he saw Emma's eyelids droop closed and she laid her head on Blaine's chest, her breathing evening out. "I still write for them every now and then, some freelance work."

"Why did you move?" Blaine asked curiously. "I love the city."

"Me too," Kurt swallowed and diverted his gaze. The way Emma and Blaine were cuddled on the couch they looked… like father and daughter. They were comfortable together. Emma felt safe with Blaine. "I… I gave up my job to stay home and take care of Emma, but when Chandler filed for divorce, I needed to get an income. Emma… she needs special care; I couldn't just get any sitter. It's… I didn't trust a stranger with her, you know."

Blaine nodded, gently twirling Emma's black curls between his fingers.

"My parents… well actually Carole is my step-mom but that's beside the point… they're both amazing. They're… family. I knew they would take care of her when I had to work."

Blaine hummed. He looked at Kurt and swallowed when he saw the man's heavy gaze on him and Emma. "Do you ever think of moving back? When she's older, maybe?"

"I… I'd love to, but Emma… it's her home here. She has friends. I don't know if I could do that to her." Kurt sighed softly, and shook his head. "I don't think so."

Blaine looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I get that… she's an amazing girl, you know. It's so easy to love her. You did a great job with raising her."

"Thanks," Kurt swallowed and looked away again. The sight in front of him was pulling at his heart strings. Actually the whole day had done that. The way Blaine played and interacted with Emma was like a breath of fresh air for him. He never had this, another person to share Emma with that wasn't his dad or Carole. Another- he was almost afraid to think it– another father figure. Chandler had never really enjoyed Emma. In the three years he had been her father, he had never played with her like Blaine had today. Chandler had always focused on her shortcomings, her special needs. Blaine, on the other hand, was fascinated by how he needed to take care of her, but he didn't see it as a burden. "I'm gonna take her to bed. She's exhausted."

"She is," Blaine agreed. "What are the plans for tomorrow?"

"Homework," Kurt said as he stroke Emma's cheek to wake her a little. "Hey little girl, we're gonna do the cathing and get you into bed, okay?"

Emma nodded and wrapped her arms around Kurt's neck, as he picked her up.

"Maybe a movie in the afternoon. I don't want to tire her out too much. She has dialyses on Monday."

"Right," Blaine replied, his eyes following Kurt closely as he moved to the bathroom with Emma.

He exited it not even a minute later and shrugged. "She wants to do it herself. She doesn't like it much if I help her anymore."

Blaine hummed absentmindedly, as he was typing on his phone and rolled his eyes as he put it beside him. "Kurt… I…." Blaine swallowed. "She's amazing, and I just want you to know, if I can't be a donor, I'll do anything in my power to get Rachel on board. She's not… she doesn't feel the same as me about the adoption, but I think I can convince her to help out."

Kurt nodded. "I… thanks, Blaine. You… you did amazing today. I can see she already loves you."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Kurt replied, softly, as Blaine's phone started to ring. He saw Blaine frown at the caller ID and decided to give the man some privacy; after all, they'd only met two days ago. "I'll just… go help Emma into bed, okay?"

Kurt took his time, reading Emma two bedtime stories instead of one and even singing a few songs with her, but he couldn't keep on stalling, and Emma had fallen asleep five minutes ago, so he walked back toward the living room. He hoped he had given Blaine enough privacy. The man had seemed upset earlier at some texts, and when his phone had started to ring, the same frown had appeared on his face. Kurt sincerely hoped it wasn't Blaine's mother who was troubling him. He decided that if Blaine was still on the phone, he could take a prolonged shower.

"I don't really care about what you think. I need to be here, why can't you see that?"

Kurt bit his lip as he walked in the living room. Blaine was sitting on the couch, his head thrown back and his free hand covering half of his face. He saw Blaine taking a deep breath before he replied.

_)_

"It was… I mean, I liked going out with you. But… It's not as important as my daughter," Blaine said. He shook his head in desperation.

Kurt frowned. So he did have a girlfriend in New York. Not that it should be a surprise, after all Blaine was handsome, kind. Why shouldn't he be attached? Not that it should matter to Kurt.

"You can't blame me for not telling you; it's not something I go bragging about. It's just… a big part of my past I don't always feel comfortable sharing with just anyone."

Clearly said girlfriend didn't know about Emma or the reason that Blaine had come to Lima, so either they hadn't been together very long, or it wasn't serious.

"I can't do this right now, okay? I think it's better if we stop this before it escalates any further. I don't know when I'll be back, and I don't want you to sit around waiting, thinking I will."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. Apparently Blaine was breaking up with the girlfriend. He didn't sound too serious about her. He made it clear he wasn't going to do the long-distance thing. Kurt knew he should feel bad, for both of them, but he honestly didn't.

"I'm sorry, Andreas."

Kurt's eyes widened. Andreas. That was a man's name… Not a woman's... Not a girlfriend's name. Yet it had clearly been a phone call between two people in some sort of relationship… breaking up. He shook his head and followed Blaine's movements as he ended the call and threw his phone on the coffee table carelessly.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Blaine apologized.

"I didn't really hear a lot, just the ending," Kurt assured him. "Do you need some privacy?"

Blaine shrugged. "That's okay. It's just… break-ups, you know?"

Kurt's eyes widened. Blaine had been talking to a man, a man named Andreas, and now he was talking about a break-up? "So that was… uhm…"

"My ex-boyfriend, yes." He let out a humorless chuckle. "I should have broken up with him before I came here. Now I just felt guilty so I told him everything, and I didn't really want him to know. I just hope he doesn't go blabbing around."

Kurt blinked as he processed what Blaine had just told him. He held up his hands. "Okay, back up there. Boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Blaine corrected him. "Why… oh!" His eyes widened. "You thought, I mean… because of Rachel, probably… I never told you, did I?"

Kurt shook his head, his eyes like saucers.

"Right," Blaine chuckled as he scratched his hair. "Let's just say, Rachel was- me pretending to be straight to fit in, to please my parents."

"Oh," Kurt didn't know what to say. What do you say, when the biological father of your daughter (who is mighty good looking) tells you he's gay? So he just swallowed and nodded. "That's cool."

"Yeah?" Blaine smiled and raised an eyebrow at Kurt. "Cool."

"Hmm," Kurt hummed. Now he was curious, more curious than he should be. "So this Andreas…"

"Nothing serious," Blaine shrugged. "We went on a few dates, but we never really hit it off, except in the bedroom. He's good, if you know what I mean," Blaine said, a little embarrassed. "But we didn't click on anything other than a physical level. I mean, I've known you for two days, and I feel emotionally more attached to you than I do to him after three months."

"Oh", Kurt was still speechless. His emotions were all over the place. He had spent a whole day with Blaine, seeing him bond with his daughter, getting him take-out, laughing over something stupid. It had all felt too domestic, but Kurt had been able to rationalize it because he assumed Blaine was straight, but he couldn't anymore. Blaine was right, they had barely met two days before, but emotionally, it felt more like two months.

"So…" Blaine teased. "Since I just told you about my new relationship status…. Is there anyone I should be worried about?"

"Worried?" Kurt looked at Blaine bewildered.

"Just, you know, in case some unknown boyfriend walks in and sees me lounging on your couch."

"Oh, like that." Kurt swallowed. For a moment there, it had sounded like Blaine was asking something else. "No, no nothing to worry about. My last boyfriend broke up with me a year ago, and it wasn't that serious either, so." Blaine hummed, and Kurt couldn't help the next question that slipped from his lips. "You do that often? Relationships just for sex?" He wasn't… it wasn't like he was jealous. He just needed to know, before his imagination got away with him.

Blaine shrugged. "Sometimes. I don't… I want a real relationship, but I just haven't found the right guy yet… I think," he added as an afterthought. "I'd love to… have it all, you know? Love, sexual attraction, an emotional bond, a best friend."

He tried to stay calm, but his mind was reeling. Blaine was gay. Blaine was _gay! _For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt like doing a small victory dance, but since he didn't want to look like a lunatic, he tried to calm himself down, nodded, and smiled. "Yeah, me too."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi!**

**First of all: Hi OP, welcome here :) if you feel more comfortable to reply on the GKM, feel free to do so, don't feel obligated to review here (but you can, do whatever you feel comfortable with). I'm so glad you're still enjoying this! Thanks so much.**

**Secondly, I'm tentatively putting the number of 15 on this story. That means, I'm guessing it'll be around 15 chapters. It can be one more, it can be one less. We'll see.**

**Thirdly, ENJOY!**

CH 6

"Hey," Kurt said, smiling as Blaine shuffled into the kitchen. "Did you sleep well?"

Blaine hummed as he sat down, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and suppressing a yawn. He was about to respond to Kurt's question when he actually saw the man standing in front of him. "You're…" Blaine shook his head to clear his mind. Kurt was dressed in low-fitting sweatpants with a plain white t-shirt that didn't leave much to the imagination. He blinked a few times before finishing his sentence. "… not dressed."

"Oh." Kurt frowned. "Sorry, does this bother you? We have lazy Sundays every now and then. Emma sleeps in and we have brunch in front of the TV in our pajamas. She does her homework in the afternoon; we get take-out for the evening and play a board-game or something."

Blaine swallowed. "No, it doesn't bother me; I'm just not used to see so dressed down. It's…" Hot. "…fine."

"Okay." Kurt smiled shyly. It was weird to be like this with Blaine. He usually hid himself behind his clothes, but somehow he felt safe with Blaine. "Feel free to stay in your pajamas all day as well. I'm making waffles."

"Can I help?"

"Sure, you can peel and cut the fruit if you like. It's waffles with whipped cream and a fruit salad."

"Sounds delicious."

"I'm always trying to combine the junk food with something healthy," Kurt said. They worked together in silence for a while. It felt so normal, almost too normal. As if they did it every Sunday, they worked around each other perfectly, so Kurt broke the silence. "Are you okay?"

"Uhm, yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Blaine frowned as he chopped the apple into small pieces.

"I don't know… you broke up with your boyfriend because you came here…" Kurt trailed off.

"Oh." Right, Andreas_._ "It's fine. Like I said, it wasn't that serious. It's probably for the best; it wasn't going anywhere anyway." At least now he didn't need to find guilty for looking at Kurt. After all, Kurt was gorgeous and right there. "It's easier like this."

Kurt hummed. Blaine didn't seem to be too bothered by the break-up, which made Kurt wonder if this happened often. Maybe Blaine didn't do relationships; maybe he just dated casually.

"Don't feel guilty, okay?" Blaine said. "It wasn't going anywhere. I guess I'm still waiting for the right guy."

Kurt hummed. "Yeah, me too."

"Can I… What happened with Chandler?"

Kurt froze.

"I'm sorry; it's none of my business."

"No, it isn't," Kurt snapped. He shook his head. "Sorry, that was harsh. I just…"

"You don't want to talk about it; that's okay." Blaine shrugged. He did wonder what had happened for Kurt to react like that. As far as he'd gathered the divorce had been years ago. The awkward silence that fell between them was broken as Blaine's phone began to ring. He frowned as he saw it was his mom, but answered it anyway. "Hey, Mom."

Kurt's eyes widened when he realized who was on the line.

"I'm at Kurt's. Where else would I be?"

Kurt bit his lip as he glanced at the living room, contemplating whether he should give Blaine some space.

"Why would I go back to New York, Mom? You know why I came here. I wouldn't just go back." Blaine sighed as he looked at Kurt and gestured for him to stay. Nothing he was about to say would make any difference, and there was no reason Kurt shouldn't hear it. "Kurt isn't forcing me to do anything, and Emma is my responsibility. I don't care that I gave her up; I made her. I was responsible enough to find a proper family for her when I couldn't take care of her. I need to help her now as well." Blaine sighed and scratched his head. "Look, Mom, I… I love her, okay? She's an amazing little girl, and if I can help her, I will."

Kurt smiled at this. He knew Blaine really cared for Emma, and he was grateful for that.

"Another thing, I can't believe you kept those letters from me. They were addresses to me. I asked for them. I thought they didn't care anymore." Blaine shook his head. He still couldn't believe his mom did that. It had really upset him. "You know what, Mom; I don't want to talk about it." With that he ended the call, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room to rummage through his backpack. He sat down with his black leather binder filled with letters and pulled the newest one out.

_January 2020_

_Hey, Blaine_

_I've taken Emma to her bi-annual check-up. They're doing some tests on her kidneys since she's had problems with them when she was younger. Let's talk about something more important though, her eighth birthday!_

_I've been doing research on Boundless Playgrounds. They're playgrounds specially designed for children with special needs. As it turns out, there's one close to Westerville, which is a 2 hour drive from where we live, so I decided to take her there for her birthday party. It was a big production since two of her best friends are in wheelchairs as well; she knows them from the sports camp she went to during the summer. The rest are girls from her school. You can't imagine a car drive with eight loud six-, seven- and eight-year-olds. Let me tell you a secret. Aspirin. Lots and lots of aspirin._

_She loved the playground, especially the swing. She's never been able to swing before, and her face was just priceless. She loved it. She said it felt like flying when she closed her eyes. _

_It was really cold, so we couldn't stay very long, but I had made reservations at a nearby diner for afterwards. They were exhausted on the drive back, so that was a lot quieter, thankfully. _

_Love, Kurt and Emma_

Blaine looked at the photos that were attached to the letter. Emma was bundled up with a thick scarf and jacket but she looked so happy. There were several pictures, and Blaine had to swallow the lump forming in his throat. How could his mother not understand this? He felt Kurt sit down next to him and put a hand on his arm.

"Hey."

Blaine shook his head. "I… how could I not be here? She needs me. Why doesn't my mom understand that?"

"I think…" Kurt was searching his words. "Your mom never saw Emma; i-that makes a difference. I don't really think she realizes you have a daughter."

Blaine closed his eyes and leaned into Kurt's touch. "I saw her for maybe two minutes after she was born. They took her away immediately for surgery, but I never forgot that image. I wish they would have let me see her afterwards."

"You could have, if you had asked. I would have let you," Kurt said, he turned his upper body so he could pull Blaine in a comforting hug.

Blaine shook his head. "I couldn't. I… I didn't want to give her away. My mind knew it was the smart thing to do, but my heart… it broke in those two minutes I saw her. If I had seen her again, I would have never let her go, but I couldn't take care of her. In my mind I knew I couldn't, but I wanted to. My mom and Rachel arranged everything for the adoption. I only signed the papers at the end. I just couldn't do it. I'm sorry. I wish I could have."

"It's okay." Kurt pulled back slightly and his heart broke a little at the sight of the man crying in his arms. "Maybe we should see this as an opportunity," he said softly. "I always try to see the best in difficult situations. This is a bad thing for Emma, but maybe it's a second chance for you, a chance to get to know your daughter."

A loud sob escaped from Blaine's mouth.

"Blaine." Kurt was lost. He tightened his grip on the man, softly stroking up and down his back in hopes of calming him down.

"I just… You called her my daughter, but she's not. She's yours."

"She is," Kurt agreed. "But you're her father as well. You've had her in your heart all these years. I'm not gonna keep her from you. You can be in her life as much as you want."

Blaine nodded against Kurt's shoulder. "Sorry I'm ruining your shirt."

Kurt laughed. "I guess it's good it's just a sleeping shirt. I might not forgive you otherwise."

"Papa?" A tentative voice interrupted the two men.

"Hey, Sweetheart." Kurt disentangled himself from Blaine. "Come here."

Emma wheeled closer to them, her posture reserved. She cocked her head and looked at Blaine with a confused look. "Why is Blaine crying?"

"Blaine's a little upset; he's had a bit of a fight with his mom," Kurt explained. "You know what helps when someone's upset?"

"I always like it when you hold me close," Emma said.

"That does feel good, doesn't it?" Kurt smiled. "Do you think you could give Blaine a nice long hug while I finish our brunch?"

Emma nodded and held out her arms so Kurt could help her sit on the couch. As she was seated, she wrapped her small arms around Blaine's torso, and he had to suppress another sob as he pulled her close to his chest. He shot Kurt a grateful smile and buried his head in Emma's head of wild curls.

…

The week passed by quickly. It was already Friday, and Kurt was sitting at home, trying to work on one of his articles while Blaine had taken Emma to dialyses. It was weird for Kurt to stay at home while Emma was at the hospital. He wasn't used to someone else taking her. In the six years he lived in Lima, he had maybe missed three hospital visits, and it had always been his parents who had taken Emma in that case.

Blaine had insisted he could do it so Kurt could finish his article in silence, and Kurt had agreed reluctantly. It was a strange feeling to share responsibility for Emma. Even with Chandler, he was usually the one to take care of Emma. He had to admit it felt nice, to have someone with whom to share the load, but he didn't wanted to get too used to it. Blaine was only here for a few weeks at the most. He wasn't Kurt's husband, or even boyfriend. His stomach fluttered at that thought. If he was honest with himself, this was what he had wanted all along: someone who took care of Emma with him, someone who loved her, and Kurt, and took care of both of them every now and then. Last night, Kurt had picked Emma up from school after he dropped by the office, and he had come home to find Blaine cooking dinner for the three of them. The table was set, and the home was filled with the wonderful smell of something Italian.

He was shaken from his thoughts abruptly when his phone started ringing. He recognized the number of the hospital and his heart started racing. He picked it up with sweaty hands, hoping nothing was wrong with Emma.

"Hello, this is Kurt Hummel."

"Kurt, hi, this is Dr. Jane."

Kurt's heart started beating even faster at this. "Dr. Jane, hi."

"So, I'm calling you about the transplant. I've got very good news for you."

"Oh?" Maybe… Blaine's test should be in now, the test that would approve him a donor or not, but he shouldn't get his hopes up. So that's what he told himself. Don't get your hopes up. Do not get your hopes up!

"Blaine has been approved as a viable donor."

Kurt let out a yelp and clamped his hand before his mouth instantly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just, oh, my God, really?"

"Really." Dr. Jane chuckled. "Now we need for him to come in for some more tests. It looks good so far. The blood tests show he's free from disease, but we need to make sure his kidneys are 100% functional."

"Oh, my God," Kurt kept repeating. "It's happening; it's really happening."

"I'm happy for you, Kurt. Do you think Blaine can come in tomorrow morning?"

"I think so," Kurt said.

"Good, around 10 would be perfect. If anything changes let me know. I would recommend that you join us, so I can give you some more information regarding the procedure."

"Okay, I'll—we'll be there." They said their goodbyes and Kurt ended the call. He was still shocked. Blaine was a viable donor. Blaine could give a kidney to Emma. Blaine could help her!

He heard the front door open and saw Blaine coming inside. He was carrying Emma bridal style and went to the living room to put her on the couch so she could rest. "Kurt?" Blaine sounded worried, and Kurt realized he must look like a mess. He was pretty sure his face was blotchy, his eyes puffy and red. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfect," Kurt said, as he got up and practically jumped into Blaine's arms. He pressed the man close and buried his face in Blaine's neck. "The doctor just called. You can be a donor."

"Are you serious?" Blaine pulled back so he could look Kurt in the eye. "Really?"

Kurt nodded fervently. "We have to go to the hospital tomorrow for some more tests, but you're a viable donor. You're approved."

"Oh, my God!" Blaine laughed as he pulled Kurt back into the hug and picked him up to spin him around. "That's great. I can't believe it."

"Blaine," Kurt squealed when Blaine put him back down. "I can't believe you just did that. That's so cheesy."

"Ah, you love it; admit it." Blaine smiled radiantly as he looked over at the couch were Emma had already fallen asleep. "It's gonna be okay, Kurt. She's gonna be fine."

Kurt nodded and pulled Blaine into another hug, lingering a little longer than necessary, but he couldn't help it. He was happy. His daughter was gonna be okay. Their daughter was gonna be okay.

…

"Hey, Dad," Kurt kissed his dad on the cheek as he stepped into the house. "Carole!" He hugged his step-mom.

"Grandpa, Grandma!" Emma wheeled in and was immediately engulfed in a bear hug from Burt.

"This is Blaine," Kurt said by a way of introduction. "The friend I told you I was bringing."

"Right, friend," Burt replied, eying Blaine suspiciously.

"Uhm, hello Sir; it's nice to meet you." Blaine extended his hand nervously.

"Oh, please, it's Burt and Carole." Carole nudged her husband and engulfed Blaine in a hug. "Any _friend_ of Kurt's is a friend of ours."

"It's not often Kurt brings a _friend_ home for us to meet," Burt said.

"Well Blaine's a very good friend," Kurt replied, as he rolled his eyes. "Besides, he really wanted to see the swing you have in your backyard."

"Yes!" Emma yelled, oblivious to all the awkwardness surrounding the adults. "Can we go play on the swing? Can we Granddaddy? Can we?"

"We can have lunch first," Burt said. "Grandma made us sandwiches. Afterwards we'll go play on the swing."

"Chicken barbeque sandwiches?"

"Yes," Carole laughed as she led them to the kitchen. "And some cucumber for your papa."

Kurt shot her a grateful glance as he motioned to Blaine to follow them to the kitchen. Blaine, who still felt nervous, stuck close to Kurt as he tried to take in his surroundings. The house wasn't as adapted as Kurt's was, but he could see they had kept Emma in mind with layout of the space. There were big areas left where she could easily maneuver her chair, and the kitchen table had a space reserved especially for her.

"So, how do the two of you know each other?" Burt asked as they all sat around the table.

"Dad." Kurt glared at his father, shooting a pointed glance at Emma.

Burt huffed, earning him a slap at the arm from Carole, who took over the conversation. "How's work, Kurt?"

"Great! Isabelle called me last week to do an article about the new and upcoming designers, so I'm focusing on that now I've finished my article for _the Lima's News_."

"Isn't it great how they still want you as a writer, even though you haven't worked for them for years, only the freelance stuff like this."

"I always liked Isabelle; she was my fairy godmother when I first moved to New York," Kurt said. "I owe her so much."

"Wait a minute." Blaine grabbed Kurt's upper arm. "You mean Isabelle Wright, from Vogue?" He looked at Kurt with jaw slack and eyes wide. "You know Isabelle Wright, from Vogue."

"Yes, I started as her assistant when I first went to New York."

"_The _Isabelle Wright, who is expected to take Anna Wintour's place as editor?"

"Oh, well, she asked me not to tell anyone about it yet." Kurt frowned. "I don't want to fuel any rumors…"

Blaine fell back against his chair. "You know Isabelle Wright. Isabelle _Wright_."

"Who's Isabelle?" Emma looked in confusion at all the adults around her.

"She's my boss from New York. You know, the one I write articles for every now and then," Kurt explained, as he softly patted Blaine's arm.

"Oh, the one with the pretty blonde curls?"

"Yeah."

"I like her," Emma said. "She's pretty. Like a real Barbie."

Kurt chuckled. "I guess. I think Blaine's going into shock though."

Emma's eyes widened. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

"I'm fine," Blaine said, softly. "I'm just… impressed."

"It's nothing, really." Kurt shook his head. "I'm sure you know a bunch of famous Broadway stars."

"Yes, but… Isabelle Wright. You have to introduce me to her someday, promise me!" Blaine insisted.

"Okay," Kurt was chuckling. "I will. I didn't know you were such a big _Vogue_ fan."

Blaine stared at Kurt with an overcome look on his face. "It's _Vogue_, Kurt. It's like… It's _Vogue_!"

"Yes," Kurt smiled proudly as he replied. "It's _Vogue_."

"Can we stop talking about _Vogue_ now?" Emma said, her words followed by a heavy sigh. "I wanna go play!"

"Oh, yes," Blaine agreed, suddenly remembering why they were here. "I want to see the swing."

"Okay, let's go show Blaine the swing," Kurt said, smiling brightly.

..

"So, are you gonna tell me who this Blaine guy really is?" Burt prompted as he sat down on the porch next to Kurt, who was looking fondly at Blaine and Emma playing with her swing. "I see how you're looking at him, you know."

"It's not what you might think, Dad," Kurt answered. "Blaine's… he's Emma's biological father."

"What?" Burt sputtered as he almost choked. "Emma's father?"

Kurt hummed.

"How did he find you?" Burt asked, shocked. He was silent for a moment when realization dawned upon him. "You found him, didn't you?"

"When Emma was born he wrote to me, asking me to keep him up to date how she was doing."

"You were in touch with him all these years?" Burt asked, surprised.

"No, no," Kurt shook his head. "I wrote him letters and sent him pictures every couple of months or so. I… it was just me, I never put a return address on the envelope, so he couldn't contact me."

"But now you did."

"I had to, Dad. I needed to find someone to help her."

"I don't blame you, Son," Burt said, as he put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "How are you coping?"

"I'm fine." Kurt shrugged.

"Kurt…"

"I don't know, okay. I… it's weird." Kurt shrugged."It's… I like him, I actually like him. He's… we're friends. He's a nice guy; he's fun to hang around with. He's been staying with us for a week now, and he's so good with her. He even took her to dialyses yesterday."

"You let him take her?" Burt asked, surprised.

"He asked… and I said he could. He's good with her."

Burt nodded, looking at the pair of them, playing at the swing. "I see it. Does she know?"

"No, not yet."

"But you're planning on telling her," Burt said.

"I… yes." Kurt sighed. "It's weird, seeing Emma with Blaine. They look alike, and they have a similar demeanor. He's her father; he's giving her his kidney, Dad. I can't keep him away after that. It wouldn't be fair."

"To Emma or to you?" Burt asked pointedly, before getting up and walking over to his granddaughter. Kurt pondered his father's question. If he was being completely honest with himself, he did feel something for Blaine, but he wasn't sure what it was. Friendship was definitely part of it, but there were some other feelings as well. The only problem was that Kurt wasn't sure if it was because he saw what he'd been missing all those years, a second father for Emma, or if it was more than that.

…

"See, it's not that hard," Blaine explained gently, as Emma sighed in exasperation.

"You explain it better than my teacher." Her eyes lit up. "Hey, maybe you could be my teacher, so I don't have to go to school anymore, and we can play with the swing in grandpa's yard all day, like today!"

"Hmm, how about… no," Kurt said, as he rolled his eyes. "You have to go to school, so you can graduate and get a degree."

"What if I don't want to?" Emma asked, crossing her arms in protest. "I can go sing on Broadway, like Blaine does."

Blaine laughed as he shook his head fondly. "You know I studied three years at NYADA to become a Broadway actor. You can't just get up there and sing. It's not that easy."

Emma frowned. "Do they have math at NADA?"

"NYADA," Blaine corrected her. "No, they don't."

"Then I want to go there," Emma announced, unwavering.

Kurt chuckled. "Whatever you want, little girl, but you need to know math to graduate first, so get practicing."

Emma sighed dramatically as she turned back to her worksheet. Blaine pressed a kiss against her head, laughing silently before he joined Kurt in the kitchen. "What'cha doing?"

Kurt shrugged. "Just keeping busy. Trying to figure out what I can make for dinner with what's left in the fridge." He faltered for a moment before turning to Blaine. "You know, I auditioned for NYADA."

"Oh?" Blaine looked up, surprised.

Kurt hummed in response. "I didn't get in."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Did you try again?"

Kurt shook his head in denial. "No, I figured I wasn't good enough the first time, so why bother being a second choice?"

Blaine shrugged. "I can't imagine going anywhere else. I did get in on my first try, but Rachel choked at her audition. She auditioned again and could start the second semester, though."

"Oh." Kurt swallowed as he tried to appear disinterested. "So you both went to NYADA; you must have been tight."

Blaine laughed. "Maybe, back then. We rented an apartment together. I still live there actually, but she moved out once she got her big break-out role."

"What is she—" Kurt stopped himself. "You know, I don't want to know."

"I'm sorry." Blaine made a face. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"No, no it's okay," Kurt said. "I mean, we're friends, right? You should be able to talk about your friends to friends."

Blaine smiled. "We're friends?"

"Yes, of course," Kurt answered, confused. "Did I ever give you the impression we weren't? I'm sorry if that's the case."

"No, no, it's not," Blaine quickly answered. "It's just, it's a weird situation. Glad to know you don't just keep me around for my organs."

"Well, that's part of the attraction," Kurt teased, winking at Blaine. "But I do genuinely enjoy your company. We share a lot of interests, from Broadway to certain fashion trends, with a whole lot of tv-shows and sarcastic humor in the middle, and not to mention _Vogue_!"

"Yeah_, Vogue_," Blaine smiled to himself. "You know, since we're friends, I think you should come visit me in New York sometime."

"Oh?"

Blaine hummed. "You can watch me perform on Broadway."

Kurt slightly cocked his head and his features softened. He did really like Blaine. A lot. If the circumstances were different he might even like him in a different way. He could easily see it. "Yeah, that'd be great."

Blaine nodded as he leaned back on the couch. "I have to go back, you know."

"I know," Kurt said.

"The operation isn't for five more weeks. I need to get back to work, and get my stuff."

Kurt nodded. The doctor had scheduled Emma's surgery for the summer so she wouldn't need to miss any school. He knew Blaine couldn't stay with them the whole time, even though Kurt wanted it. Blaine had responsibilities. He had a job and an apartment he needed to take care of.

"After the operation, I want you to stay with us until you've recovered completely," Kurt said.

"I… that's not necessary, you know."

"I know, but I want to, Blaine. We're friends, right? And you're doing this huge thing for me. I want to take care of you. Please, stay with us over the summer. Emma will be delighted." And it wouldn't hurt for Kurt to have some time to figure out his own feelings in the mean time.

Blaine smiled at the mention of Emma. His daughter. He was afraid to say it to Kurt, but he loved her as his own. He would do anything to keep the little girl in his life from now on, together with her father. "Yeah, sure, I'll stay for the summer"


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't have much to say this week, just enjoy!**

**(oh and if you have facebook, would you be a doll and vote for me in this competition? the 'stem' button is a vote. Just go to Facebook . com, and then add: /TaartenDecorerenBE/app_133900676783267?app_data=6691 thanks!)**

CH 7

"Papa, I don't get it," Emma said as she sighed and laid her head on the table next to her textbook. "I need Blaine to explain it to me."

"I know, Sweetie, but Blaine had to go back to his home for a little while," Kurt explained. "Let me have a look at it."

"You're bad at math."

Kurt chuckled and shook his head fondly as Emma was dramatically looking at him from across the kitchen table. He couldn't deny that he sucked at math.

"When is Blaine coming back?"

"A few days before your surgery."

"I miss him."

"I know, Honey." Me too, he added mentally. Until Blaine left, Kurt hadn't realized how much a part of their lives he had become in the week he had stayed with them. He also hadn't realized how much he needed someone like Blaine in his life. He had done great with Emma on his own before, but everything had seemed easier, lighter, when Blaine was around. He had someone to spend his evenings with, to talk and laugh with, to share with. "Maybe we can make Blaine a drawing and I'll send it to him."

"Yes!" Emma's head shot up from the table with a wide smile. "Or maybe we can make a painting!"

"Sure," Kurt agreed. "But you need to finish your homework first, okay?"

The pout that appeared on Emma's face almost made Kurt give in. Almost. "How about we call him tonight? I bet he'll be proud to hear how you've done your math homework all by yourself."

…

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Hemsworth. I really appreciate it, especially since it was on such short notice."

"That's no problem, Dear," Mrs. Hemsworth replied. "I hope everything turned out okay?"

Blaine nodded. "Yeah, it will eventually." He had asked his neighbor, Mrs. Hemsworth, to look after his dog when he left to find Kurt, saying that it was family emergency and he really couldn't take Lady with him.

"I hope everyone is fine?"

Blaine rolled his eyes inwardly. He wasn't going to tell his life story to his nosy neighbor, even if she had been nice enough to watch his dog. "Everyone will be fine; they just… needed me there."

"Oh, well…"

"I need to go, but if there's ever anything I can do…" Blaine smiled politely before turning around and walking back to his apartment. Once inside he closed the door and put Lady on the floor. "I missed you, Girl. Have you been nice to Mrs. Hemsworth?"

Lady barked once in reply and jumped against his legs.

"Yes, I promise I'll take you next time," Blaine chuckled as he walked into his kitchen to grab some food for Lady. "You won't believe who I met there, Girl… I met my daughter." A dreamy smiled appeared on his face. "And her father, who's kinda perfect." Blaine shook his head. "He's a perfect father for her, I mean." He looked down at Lady who was staring at him with wide eyes, her head cocked to the side. "Ah, what do you care, you're just glad to get your kibbles, aren't you?" Lady barked again as he sat her tray down on the ground before she dived in.

Rolling his eyes, Blaine retreated back to the living room as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the pictures he had taken the last few days. There were a whole bunch of Emma, Kurt, and even some of him with Emma and/or Kurt. His apartment already felt strangely quiet to him. And clean. Too clean. Nowhere a lost toy or doll in sight. He was pulled out of his thoughts as his phone started to vibrate. His face lighted up when he saw both Kurt's and Emma's faces smashed together on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Blaine? Hey, it's Kurt."

"Hey, Kurt."

"Did you arrive okay? You're flight went well?"

"Yeah, it was okay. I just got home like half an hour ago. I stopped at the theatre first to get my schedule for the next weeks," Blaine said, as he got comfortable on the couch.

"Okay, wait, in a minute."

Blaine chuckled as he heard Emma say something in the background. He could hear Kurt groan, and he just knew he was rolling his eyes.

"Fine, you go first. Blaine, Emma desperately wants to talk to you."

"Okay, put her on," Blaine laughed.

"Blaine?"

"Hey, Ems," Blaine said as he heard the soft voice of his daughter come through the speaker. "How are you? Not giving your old man too much trouble?"

"I finished my math homework, all by myself!" she declared proudly.

"That's great, Sweetheart. I knew you could do it."

"Oh, and Papa and I made you a painting…" she was silent for a moment, and Blaine could hear Kurt in the background. "Well, I made the painting, Papa cleaned up my mess."

Blaine chuckled. "I'm sure he did. What did you make me?"

"I drew you, and your curls!" Emma was giggling. "You have even more curls than me. It's so funny that we have the same hair."

…

Kurt swallowed heavily at that last comment Emma made. She had Blaine's hair. In fact, she was almost an exact replica of Blaine. He wondered how long it would take for her to notice all the similarities.

"I don't like it when Papa combs my hair." Emma made a face. "It hurts, even with all the products he uses."

Kurt cleared his throat to get his daughter's attention. She giggled loudly. "I think Papa wants to speak to you now. Bye Blainey. I love you."

Kurt stared at her for a few moments when she handed his phone back to him. "I… uhm, can you get ready for bed, Sweetheart?" She nodded as she wheeled away. Kurt waited a few more moments so he was sure she was in the bathroom before holding the phone against his ear again. "So,…"

"Kurt, I'm sorry," Blaine immediately said. "I swear I didn't say it first, she just blurted it out and I wasn't sure what else to say and—"

"What did you say?" Kurt cut him off.

"I… what?"

"What did you say?" Kurt repeated.

"I said I love her, too."

Kurt took a deep breath. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course," Blaine replied in a heartbeat.

"Good, that's… good."

"Yeah?" Blaine sounded insecure. "You're sure you don't mind?"

Kurt shook his head. "I can't control who she loves, Blaine. Beside, as far as I've discovered, you're a pretty great person to love." It took him a few seconds to realize what he said. "I mean, for Emma, as an adult role model, you're uhm… you're…"

Blaine chuckled. "Okay, good."

"Yeah, good."

They were silent for a few moments. Kurt was going over scenarios in his head to end the call without it becoming even more awkward when Blaine suddenly spoke. "Is it weird to say I miss you guys? It's so silent around the house here. I miss the energy that hangs around your place."

Kurt smiled. "We miss you, too."

…

Blaine's heart stopped for a moment at the 'we'. Kurt had said 'we miss you'. Not 'Emma misses you'. _We_. He cleared his throat. "Have you given any thought to my proposition?"

"Blaine, so scandalous. Emma is in the next room, you know."

Laughing, Blaine fell back into their easy banter that bordered on flirting. "I just can't help myself, a fine young man such as yourself."

"I would hardly call myself young. I turn 33 in a month!"

"That's barely a third of your life; I'd say that's plenty young," Blaine teased. "Of course, compared to me, you're almost ready for your retirement."

"Ah, the youth of today, always ready with a reply," Kurt said with a dramatic sigh.

Blaine was still chuckling as he repeated his earlier question. "I'm serious, Kurt. You should come to New York for a weekend. I'm scheduled to play the lead in the Sunday matinee in two weeks."

He could hear Kurt sigh at the other end. "Oh, Blaine, I'd really love to… but Emma… I can't take her to New York now. It would be too wearing for her."

"I know, I get that, but Kurt, I'm asking you to come," Blaine said, biting his lip. He really wanted to spend some time with the other man alone, to see what he was really feeling, whether it was just attraction because he was taking care of his daughter, or if it was more. "I mean, I'd love for somewhere in the future for both you and Emma to come, if she's up for it, but I… I really want to know you better, Kurt. I want us to be friends, especially if we're going to be in each other's lives. If you let me be in Emma's."

…

Kurt's breath hitched as Blaine said he wanted to get to know him better. He had corrected himself instantly, saying it was for Emma, but for a moment, Kurt had imagined it to mean something else. Something more. He needed to keep his feelings in check, because he was falling harder than he had expected.

"Kurt?"

Kurt shook his head slowly, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make his current feelings known.

"Kurt, sorry, I didn't mean to push," Blaine said softly. "If you don't want to come that's fine."

"No, no!" Kurt hastily replied. "I want to come, I really do." But he wasn't sure if spending more time with Blaine would be good for him. Here, he had Emma as an excuse. He could hide his feelings behind the façade that he needed Blaine for Emma, that Blaine was only there for Emma, and not for him, but if he went to New York alone, he would be exposing himself to a whole new experience. "Let me think about it, okay?"

Their conversation was cut short as Emma was finished and Kurt needed to put her to bed. His mind was reeling the whole time during their nightly routine. He always braided her hair, otherwise it was a disaster the next morning, and read her a story. Emma knew all her favorites by heart, and she corrected Kurt numerous times that evening.

"Are you okay, Papa?"

"Hm? What? Yes, of course. Why do you ask?" Kurt said, distracted.

"I had to correct you five times."

"Oh." Kurt wasn't sure what to say. Emma was right. He had messed up more than once while reading her story. His mind wasn't here, it was in New York, with Blaine, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. "I was just seeing if you were paying attention."

Emma beamed up at him. "I was."

"Yes, you were," Kurt smiled as he pressed a kiss against her temple. "Now go to sleep and dream about princes and princesses."

"In far off places!"

"Yes," Kurt chuckled.

"Like New York, where Blainey is!"

Kurt's smile faded. "Yeah, Blaine."

"Are you sure you're okay, Papa?"

"I'm fine. Go to sleep, Sweetheart," Kurt said as he tried to gather his thoughts. He needed to talk to someone, his own dad, maybe. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Okay, Papa, I love you."

"I love you, too, Sweetheart." Kurt pressed a last kiss against her head as he walked out of her room and back into the living room. He grabbed his phone from the coffee table and dialed the familiar number. It was Carole who answered, and after some polite chit-chat she handed the phone over to his father.

"What's up, Son?"

"I don't know, Dad. I'm so confused," Kurt almost whispered. "I don't know what to do."

"Kurt, are you okay? Has anything happened?"

"It's Blaine."

"Oh, Kurt," Burt sighed across the line. "What happened, did he back out?"

"What? Oh, no, no! He didn't, no, he wouldn't. Of course not."

"Okay." Burt let out a breath of relief. "That's good." He paused for a moment, giving Kurt the chance to say something, but when he didn't, Burt spoke again. "Is it… do you have feelings for Blaine?"

"No!"

"Kurt…"

"Maybe… I don't know," Kurt replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You have," Burt stated.

Kurt swallowed audibly. "I don't know what to do, Dad."

"Well, it's simple, really. Does he have feelings for you?"

Kurt bit his lip. "I don't know. Sometimes I think he does. We… we flirt, a lot. But it's not, I don't know if that's just him, or if it's serious."

"Okay."

"I just, I don't know what I'm feeling. He's been living with us for a week, and I loved it. I loved coming home to find dinner on the table; I loved having someone to take Emma to dialyses; but I also loved our banter, and how we could talk about anything." Kurt sighed.

"You're confused," Burt said. "That's normal. You liked the domesticity, but you also like Blaine."

Kurt hummed in agreement.

"But you're not sure if you like Blaine because of the domesticity he brought, or just because of Blaine."

"I… yeah," Kurt confessed. "When he was here, I saw what I had been missing. What I never had. I really want a husband again. Is that bad?"

"Oh, Kurt, no of course not. You just have to sort out if Blaine might be that man for you, or if he's just someone that just makes you realize you want a relationship again. You haven't really been with anyone since Chandler, as far as I know."

"No, I haven't… I mean, nothing serious anyway," Kurt quickly said.

"Right, too much information, but anyway. You haven't been with anyone serious, and maybe this week with Blaine has made you see you're ready for that again."

"I… that actually makes a lot of sense." Kurt was silent for a moment, letting his father's words sink in. "I… Blaine asked me to come to New York. Alone. Without Emma. Before the surgery."

"Why?" Burt asked. "Did he say why he wanted you to come alone?"

"Well he didn't specifically ask me to come alone, he just asked me to come to New York, and when I said Emma wasn't strong enough for that he said he wanted me to come alone, to get to know each other better. He said… he said it was because of Emma, and if he was gonna be in our life we should be friends, but I don't know… it sounded maybe… I don't know." Kurt shook his head. Talking to his dad was clearing his mind in some ways, but in others it was still reeling.

"Kurt, go to New York. Sort out your feelings."

"But Emma…" Kurt protested.

"Carole and I will take care of her. You can leave Friday and come back on Sunday," Burt reasoned. "You don't even have to miss any dialyses if you book a flight for Friday evening."

Kurt bit his lip. He trusted his father and Carole, and maybe was spending a weekend alone with Blaine would help him figure a few things out.

"Kurt, Son, when was the last time you took any time for yourself? You have been taking care of Emma non-stop. Do this for you. Take some time off and sort out your feelings."

…

Blaine was getting ready for bed. He had just brushed his teeth, and gone into his bedroom. In the middle of his bed Lady had made a comfortable nest for herself. Blaine shook his head, scratched Lady behind her ear, and chuckled as she licked his palm and nuzzled it for a moment. "What do you think, Girl? How can we convince Kurt to come visit us?" he asked her, as he gently shoved her aside to get some room for himself. "I need him to meet you so he can invite you over for the summer as well." Blaine shook his head as Lady cocked her head to the side and rolled on her back, indicating she wanted belly rubs. "I think you'd get along great with Emma as well. She's a wonderful little girl. I love her, you know." He was silent for a moment. "And Kurt… he's amazing. He's beautiful, funny, and a great father." Blaine turned so he was lying on his back. He bit his lip as he stared at the ceiling. "He has excellent taste in clothes, which is to be expected, as he works for _Vogue_. He works for _Vogue_, can you believe it? He's in Lima, but he still works for _Vogue_. I sound like a teenage boy with a crush, don't I? Can you imagine if I'd had met Kurt in high school? If we'd been in the same glee club maybe? I bet things would have gone very differently." Blaine sighed. "But then again, there wouldn't have been Emma, and she's something I wouldn't want to miss out on. I guess everything happens for a reason, right?" He shook his head as Lady let out tiny snores. "Obviously you don't care. You're happy as long as I feed you and give you belly rubs." Blaine had just turned around again, getting comfortable, when his phone lighted up with a new message.

[My flight arrives on Friday in two weeks at JFK around 8pm, would that be okay? Can you come and pick me up? - Kurt]

Blaine resisted the urge to kick his feet in the air out of happiness.

[That's so okay. I'll be there. I'm glad you decided to come! - Blaine]

[Me, too. - Kurt]


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey!**

**I love this chapter.**

**That is all :)**

**(Oh, and someone asked what kind of dog Lady is, and I realized I never mentioned it! She's a King Chares Cavalier, a white and brown one.)**

**SB CH 8**

Biting his lip nervously, Kurt looked around the arrival hall. His plane had landed half an hour before, and he had sent a text to Blaine right away. Blaine had replied instantly, saying he was waiting for Kurt at the coffee stand. He was about to get his phone and call Blaine when he saw Blaine waving at him enthusiastically. Kurt let out a breath of relief and grabbed his carry-on, making his way over to Blaine. He stopped a few feet in front of the other man, not sure what the social protocol was in greeting the biological father of your daughter, slash friend, slash potential love interest. Blaine seemed to have thought about it beforehand, or he simply didn't care, as he pulled Kurt into a hug right away.

"Let's get coffee first, okay?"

Kurt nodded in agreement. Blaine's hands were on the small of his back for barely a minute, but he couldn't help the goose bumps that seemed to erupt from that spot. Blaine grabbed his carry-on and walked into the coffee shop, ordering a tall non-fat mocha and a medium drip. Kurt raised his eyebrows in surprise at this. "You know my coffee order?"

"Of course." Blaine looked at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Kurt couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks," he murmured as Blaine handed him his cup.

"No problem." Blaine smiled broadly. "I'm so glad you decided to come."

Kurt bit his bottom lip to suppress his grin. Blaine's enthusiasm was rubbing off on him, and his nerves that had been building up all day had almost disappeared completely.

"Let's get a cab and go home," Blaine said, still rolling Kurt's carry-on behind him as they walked to the exit. Kurt followed closely behind, protesting for a moment he could carry his luggage. "Don't be ridiculous," Blaine contradicted. "I'm sure you're exhausted from the trip here. It's nothing."

Kurt had to admit he was tired. He had hurried home after Emma's dialyses to get his stuff and leave for the airport. He had made it with half an hour to spare. Thankfully there had been no traffic. He had hoped to relax a bit on the plane, but of course he had been seated next to an overly talkative woman who had felt the need to tell Kurt stories of all five of her grandchildren.

"I figured we'd just hang out at the apartment tonight. Watch some bad reality TV maybe."

"Sounds like heaven," Kurt admitted. "I actually am tired. I have one request though; can we stop by _Junior's Bakery_ for cheesecake first? I haven't had _Junior's_ in years."

"Sounds like a plan," Blaine agreed. "The Brooklyn one isn't too far from my apartment, so we'll just let the cab driver drop us off. It's barely a five minute walk from there."

…

"You know, this was not what I expected, at all," Kurt said between two bites. "It's a loft. I love it."

"Thanks," Blaine beamed. "I love it here. It's home, you know?"

"And you have a dog," Kurt shook his head as he scratched Lady, who had made herself comfortable on the couch, behind her ears. "You could have mentioned something, you know. Like that I should be expecting two houseguests this summer."

"Oh, I didn't want to… I mean, I can ask Cooper to take care of her," Blaine mumbled, trying not to stare to intently at Kurt, who was sitting comfortably on his couch, with Lady half draped over his lap, and enjoying his cheesecake a little too much.

"Nonsense, Emma will love her. She always wanted a dog." Kurt hummed as he took another bite. He closed his eyes and moaned softly. "This is probably the thing I've missed most about New York. I mean, my cheesecake is good, but you can't beat _Junior's_."

"You can't," Blaine replied softly, gazing at Kurt intently. He couldn't help it, the way Kurt was moaning at every bite he took. It drove him crazy.

Kurt cleared his throat. "So, did you always live here?"

"I did."

Kurt looked at Blaine expectantly.

"Are you sure you wanna know?" Blaine asked. "It involves a lot of Rachel."

"I do," said Kurt. "I'm curious what happened after Emma's birth. You two broke up I assume, or what?"

"Oh, no, we broke up before Emma was born," Blaine said. "Do you want to hear the whole story?"

Kurt nodded. "If you want to tell me."

"Sure.I knew I was gay pretty early, I guess it's just one of these things I always knew, you know. I never had a big realization about it, I just knew."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah, same here."

"Right, so I used to go to a public high school, and this one year, I was 14, they organized a dance. I asked another boy to go with me, just as friends. He was the only other gay guy I knew. We had fun, but at the end of the evening some of the jocks decided we shouldn't flaunt our sexuality, so they beat us up." Blaine shrugged at Kurt's horror-struck face. "It's okay; it was a long time ago. Anyway, I transferred to a private all-boys' boarding school. I wasn't keen on coming out there right away, and I was 15 and ... well … confused. I figured I could be straight if I tried. There was this sister school, an all-girls' boarding schools a few miles further. It was kinda a thing for the Dalton boys to date girls from there. I joined the glee club, The Warblers, and we had some friendly competitions with the girls' glee club. Rachel was their lead soloist, so we had some sing-offs. She asked me out on a date, and I, well, like I said, I was confused. I liked her, and I figured, why not, right? It was nice, to fit in for once. So we dated for about a year. By then our schools decided to do a play together. Rachel and I landed the lead in West Side Story. We got some comments from the director that we weren't passionate enough, so Rachel decided we should have sex, to enhance our performance."

Kurt had to stifle his laugh, and Blaine bumped his shoulder gently. "Hush, you. I was sixteen, okay. So we had sex, I figured out I really didn't like girls, and came clean to Rachel, who was surprisingly supportive about it. Funnily enough she had two dads, and they really helped me come to terms with my sexuality. Unfortunately, I only figured that out after we had sex, and Rachel got pregnant. She said she didn't want to keep the baby; it would only be in the way of her career. My parents agreed with her, and I really couldn't care for a baby on my own, so I reluctantly agreed to the adoption. Rachel graduated right after she gave birth to Emma, choked on her NYADA audition, but went to New York anyway. She auditioned again and got in. She lived in the dorms for the first semester, but when I got in half a year later we decided to get an apartment together. This one. It was a wreck, but it was all we could afford. After she graduated she got a big role and moved out. I had some okay roles, so I could keep the place on my own. I redecorated it some more, and this is where we are now."

"Wow."

"Yeah," Blaine shrugged. "Life's weird sometimes."

"Just… you lived with Rachel. How much does she know about Emma?"

"Emma?" Blaine looked confused for a moment. "Oh, you mean because of the letters. Nothing. She made it very clear she didn't want anything to do with her after the adoption, so I never told her."

"Okay," Kurt took a deep breath. "Are you two still close?"

"Not really. I mean, we talk when we cross paths, but she's got it in her head she's a big Broadway star now and she's… well, she's very ambitious."

"And you're not?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

Blaine shrugged. "I don't know. I love performing, I really do, but it's not… like, I love that I can make a living out of something I love to do, but it's just… a job, you know. It's not my life."

"Oh."

"Like," Blaine pondered for a moment, looking for the right words. "If… I mean… with the right guy… if it turned out that the right guy for me lived half way across the country, I wouldn't mind following him there." Blaine shook his head, chuckling softly. "I'm sorry. I know I sound like a hopeless romantic right now."

"I get it," Kurt said. "I gave up my job at _Vogue_ for Emma. Sure I loved my job, and I loved working for _Vogue_, but I love Emma more."

"Yeah." Blaine nodded. "In the end, it's just a job. You can work any job, but you can't love just any one, right?"

…

On Saturday morning they had visited the _FAO Schwarz_ toy store first, at Kurt's insistence. He had promised Emma a giant present from New York, and what was a better place than what used to be his favorite New York toy store? They grabbed some food from one of the vendors just outside, and decided to take a stroll through Central Park before Blaine had to go to the theater. That's when they bumped into him. Andreas. Blaine's ex.

They had been too caught up in their conversation for Blaine to notice him, until the man had called out at him. "So that's how you treat all of your exes? You just walk right by them?"

"Andreas?" Blaine had looked surprised. "I honestly didn't see you. I'm sorry. How are you?"

"Not as good as you, apparently," came the reply. "What, the whole 'playing daddy' thing didn't work out so you're flirting your way into some other guy's pants now?"

"Andreas, please," Blaine pleaded. "Don't make a scene. I didn't handle our situation well, I know, but I don't think a public shouting match is going to help matters."

"Fine!" Andreas rolled his eyes before focusing his attention on Kurt. "Let me tell you something. He only wants to get into your pants; he's not interested in a relationship. Also, he apparently has a secret disabled daughter somewhere he won't talk about, but whom he goes running for at the first call."

Kurt glared at Andreas. What was this man thinking, talking about Emma and Blaine like that? He was about to give the man a piece of his mind, but Blaine stopped his by putting his hand on Kurt's arm.

"Look, I'm sorry, Andreas. I never wanted to give you the impression our relationship was anything more than what it was. I didn't want to end it like I did, but that's just the way it was. It wasn't ever going to be more than sex between us. I'm sorry if you thought otherwise." He grabbed Kurt's hand. "Come on, Kurt, we're going."

Kurt followed Blaine reluctantly, but not before throwing a venomous glare in Andreas' direction. They walked for a few minutes until Blaine stopped abruptly, seating himself on a bench and pulling Kurt down beside him. "I'm sorry," Blaine gritted. "I should have called him to talk it out, but I just ... ugh!"

"It's okay," Kurt said, softly squeezing Blaine's hand, tightening his grip when Blaine tried to pull away. "We all have a nasty break-up story. This can be yours."

Blaine shook his head. "How is it a break-up if we were never together to begin with? At least I didn't think we were."

"Sometimes, people think differently about a situation."

"I guess," Blaine shrugged and looked from their entangled hands up to Kurt with a small smile. "I promise I'm not the asshole he makes me out to be."

Kurt chuckled. "I believe you. So far you seem like a catch to me. No wonder he wanted to date you, although I don't get what you saw in him."

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Did you not just see him? He was hot, Kurt, and I was single."

Kurt laughed as he bumped their shoulders together. "Yeah, I guess. He's hot, but still, you deserve better."

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand and got up from the bench. "Let's get to the theatre, okay?"

Kurt nodded. "I can't wait to see you perform."

A few hours later Kurt was sitting in the fifth row, mindlessly flipping through the playbill. He had hung around backstage for a while, when Blaine was getting ready, but he had retreated to the seats ten minutes ago. The walk to the theatre had been silent, but Blaine had held onto Kurt's hand the whole time. He could still feel the spaces between his fingers where Blaine's had been, and it still brought a smile to his face. If he was being honest with himself, he had to admit there were more than friendly feelings for Blaine. He was falling for the man. Hard. How could he not? Blaine was sweet, generous, an playful but serious when he needed to be. He loved theatre, and _Vogue_, and most importantly, he loved Emma. If he let his mind wander, he couldn't help but imagine how good of a father Blaine would be. He was probably the type that made blanket forts and took his daughter out on a walk after it had rained, just so they could jump into the puddles. Yes, Blaine would be an amazing father; he had fitted into the role perfectly when he had stayed with Kurt.

Only, Kurt wasn't sure it would be fair to give in to his feelings. If something were to happen between them, Emma would be stuck in the middle, no doubt. Legally, Blaine would have no rights to her, but emotionally, Kurt wasn't sure he could handle that. And then there was the fact that Blaine lived in New York. He had a job in New York, one that he couldn't do just anywhere. It wouldn't be fair for Kurt to ask Blaine to move to Lima, but he also couldn't just pack up his stuff and move back to New York. And all of that was assuming that Blaine returned his feelings. What if he didn't? Would Kurt end up heart-broken and alone?

He was shaken from his thoughts as the lights dimmed and the curtains opened. Kurt was determined to enjoy the show, so he put his thoughts aside and focused on the play. After all, he had a whole summer to figure out what to do, right?

…

"Oh, Blaine, you were amazing," Kurt gushed as he flung himself in Blaine's arms, squeezing the man tightly. "I mean, I knew you could sing but this, it's a whole new experience to hear you on a Broadway stage!"

"Thanks!" Blaine beamed as he buried his head in Kurt's neck and breathed in deeply. "I'm glad you liked it. I was so nervous."

"Why would you be nervous? You're a natural!"

Blaine shrugged as he pulled back from the hug. He was flushed, and he couldn't control the smile that was plastered on his face as he looked at Kurt. "I'm always nervous when someone I care for is in the audience. Like, I want to do it extra well for them, you know."

Kurt bit his bottom lip and nodded. Blaine cared for him. He thought back to before the show when they had been holding hands and he shivered. Almost on instinct he grabbed Blaine's hand again and squeezed it softly. "You were perfect."

Blaine smiled and squeezed back. He looked down at their intertwined hands and nodded. "Okay, let's get going. I have the rest of the evening planned out."

Kurt let himself be lead around by Blaine, even though he knew the city by heart. Blaine took him to Ellen's Stardust Diner, a tourist hotspot that he had always avoided, but he had to admit, he enjoyed it. Together, they sang along loudly to all the songs, and at one point one of the performers recognized Blaine, and insisted a performance, so Kurt and Blaine sang _Lay All Your Love on Me_, Blaine's biggest song in the musical.

Kurt was still giddy as he walked around Times Square with Blaine close in tow. Their hands were once again clasped together, and it almost started to feel normal, except for the sparks that shot right up Kurt's arm whenever Blaine brushed his thumb over Kurt's palm, or when he squeezed his hand softly.

"So, I have one last surprise for tonight," Blaine said as they walked by the famous stairs and back towards the theatres further along Broadway.

"Oh, do tell," Kurt insisted, turning his body towards Blaine and smiling widely at him. "I can't imagine today getting any better."

"Hmm, just wait and see," Blaine replied. He grabbed Kurt's other hand and pulled them closer together. He lifted one hand to caress Kurt's face for a moment. "Kurt, I have to tell you something first."

Kurt swallowed and nodded. He noticed Blaine licking his lips and his eyes looking down at Kurt's mouth. He squeezed Blaine's hand reassuringly, and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Today, this weekend, it's been amazing, and I—"

"Kurt?"

Kurt face fell, and he turned around at the familiar voice he hadn't heard in months. Trust Chandler to ruin his moment with Blaine.

"Chandler." Kurt forced a smile to his face. Next to him he could feel Blaine stiffen up. "What a coincidence."

"Yes, what brings you to the city? Or did you move back here?"

"I… uh, no. I'm visiting—Blaine! Yes, I'm visiting… with Blaine!"

"Visiting with Blaine?" Chandler repeated, slowly. "Oh."

"Yes, Blaine and I booked a romantic weekend away, just the two of us, you know," Kurt said, as he leaned into the other man. If Blaine was surprised by his lies, he didn't show it, as he immediately wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist to pull him closer. "You have to get a bit of air every now and then."

"Right, right. I get it." Chandler frowned. "So, how's Emma?"

"Oh, Emma is great," said Kurt, his voice a bit higher than usual. "She's, yeah, she's great. She's with my parents for the weekend."

Blaine looked at Chandler while Kurt babbled mindlessly about how well Emma was doing. He obviously didn't want his ex to know what was really going on, and it really wasn't Blaine's place to interfere. He had been a bit surprised when Kurt had said they were on a romantic weekend, but grabbing hold of Kurt felt so natural, he hadn't thought twice about it. He could see Chandler glaring at him, and he tightened his grip on Kurt unconsciously.

"…it's almost summer break, so she's happy about that…"

Chandler kept asking about Emma while shooting murderous glares at Blaine, making the man feel uncomfortable. He obviously assumed Blaine had some sort of fatherly connection with Emma, probably since Kurt had declared they were together, but that still wasn't a reason to be angry at him, Blaine thought. After all, he was the one that had left.

"… we have a bunch of plans for the summer, the three of us, so…"

Blaine knew Kurt was talking nonsense, but he couldn't help but smile at the idea he was in fact spending the whole summer with Emma and Kurt. It did almost feel like a family, to him.

"So maybe, I can come to visit over the summer?"

Blaine blinked at Chandler's proposal. Kurt had told him the man hadn't seen Emma in years, and now suddenly he wanted to visit? It wasn't making any sense.

"Oh, uhm," Kurt faltered. "Well, sure, maybe... Call us first. We might not be at home, so yeah."

"Kurt, we have to go," Blaine said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them. "Your surprise, remember?"

"Yes!" Kurt squeaked in an unnaturally high voice, so he cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, of course. We should get going. Chandler, nice seeing you again."

"You, too. You look good, Kurt." He looked back at Blaine. "Happy."

Kurt smiled softly and leaned into Blaine a little more. "I am." The two of them left, and once Chandler was out of view Kurt visibly relaxed. "I'm sorry, Blaine. That was the last man on earth I imagined running into here. I mean, I knew he still lived in New York, but still .…"

Blaine hummed.

"Are you… mad?"

"What?" Blaine looked surprised. "No, of course not. I'm just surprised. You said he hadn't seen Emma in years, but he asked loads of questions and asked to visit her over the summer. I don't get it. And why did you lie and say she's doing fine? If he visits, he'll obviously see she's not."

Kurt bit his lip and thought for a moment. "I don't know. I doubt he'll visit, I'm sure it was just out of politeness he asked. I just, I didn't want him to think I wasn't doing okay. He still has legal right to Emma. I don't want to end up in a custody battle."

"Kurt, he hasn't visited her for years. Do you really think anyone would take Emma away from you and place her with _him_?" He spat out the last word. "The guy left you. He didn't visit her. He doesn't care."

Kurt shrugged. "I'd rather not take any chances." They walked in silence for a few moments. "Are we okay? I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess."

"It's okay. We're okay." _We're more than okay_, Blaine thought as he looked down at their hands, still intertwined. If it was up to him, he'd never let go. "We're here."

Kurt looked around and clasped his hands in front of his mouth to silence his exited squeal. "Oh, God, Blaine, this is _The_ _Gershwin Theatre_. Don't tell me you have tickets for Wicked?!"

"I do!" Blaine grinned. "And great tickets as well. It pays off to work in the Broadway world. I've got connections!"

Kurt was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, God, Blaine, you're amazing. I love you. This is so great. It's been years since I saw Wicked, and oh, my God! Blaine!"

Blaine laughed as Kurt engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug, as he tried not to obsess over Kurt's words. The man was exited, he probably hadn't realized what he'd said, and he obviously hadn't meant it in the way Blaine wanted it to be said.

…

Kurt had been quietly singing along from the opening notes of _No One Mourns the Wicked_ until _For Good_. Not that Blaine minded, he sounded good, great even. Blaine had seen the show several times over the last two years, so he wasn't as focused on the show as he was on Kurt. He loved to see the man's face shift with emotions, from laughing at Glinda's superficiality, sympathizing at Elphaba being an outcast, to crying softly at _As Long As You're Mine_. He saw it all cross over Kurt's face, and he hadn't been able to help himself, during Elphaba and Fiyero's duet he just had to grab Kurt's hand and press a soft kiss against the knuckles. His heart had skipped a few beats when Kurt had torn his eyes away from the stage for a second to shoot him a watery smile and squeeze his hand softly. They had held hands until the end, where Kurt had jumped up to give the actors a standing ovation, along with the rest of the crowd. As the noise in theatre began to die down, and almost everyone started to leave, Kurt sat back down and grabbed his playbill.

"God, Blaine, that was amazing. The girl who plays Elphaba is one of the best I've seen. I need to know her name, so I can look her up online," Kurt said as he frantically searched his playbill.

"Yeah, she's amazing," Blaine agreed, hesitantly. "You can look her up later. We should get going; almost everyone's gone."

"It'll just take a minute," Kurt murmured. "Here she is. Rachel Berry, 26 years old, shines in her first big Broadway role since graduating from NYADA four years ago." He was silent for a moment as he read over her past performances, both on and off Broadway. "Rachel is from Ohio, and would like to thank her dads who gave her all the opportunities in the world, and Blaine for being an awesome duet-partner."

Kurt blinked as he slowly looked up at Blaine, who was biting his lip and looking like he was a child caught grabbing a cookie from the jar before dinner.

"So… Rachel… hmm."

"Kurt, I… I wanted to tell you, but you were always so firm that you didn't want to know anything about Rachel, so I didn't and… I'm sorry."

Kurt nodded. "I… so that's… Rachel, wow. I just… I would have liked a warning, Blaine. That's my daughter's biological mom up there. I thought you two weren't close anymore."

"We're… we're not as close as we used to be, but we're still friends. I got these tickets from her," Blaine explained.

"I just… I don't know what to say, to be honest. That's… I mean, she's… I mean Emma… she gave birth to her," Kurt was babbling, he was clearly upset by this, and Blaine started to wonder if this had been a good idea. He knew Kurt loved _Wicked_, and he had just wanted to surprise him, give him a good day, make him forget all his worries for a moment and just enjoy. He just wanted to make Kurt happy.

"Kurt," Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand before continuing. "She might have given birth to Emma, but she's not her mother. She didn't want her; she knows nothing about her. We never talked about her. She doesn't even know her name, or yours. Kurt, they told us nothing at the adoption. I didn't know a thing until your letters arrived."

Kurt nodded. "I know, but I can't help freaking out."

"Don't think of her as Emma's birth mom, think of her as an amazing Broadway actress you just saw. You don't have to meet her; you don't even have to see her anymore if you don't want to. We can just walk out and pretend this never happened."

"I don't want to pretend that this never happened," Kurt said, his voice quivering as he wiped a few tears away with the hand that wasn't clutched in Blaine's grasp. "This was an amazing day, I haven't had so much fun on a da-, I mean, I just, it was great, Blaine, you're great."

"You're pretty great yourself."

Kurt chuckled as he clutched Blaine's hand, tighter. "God, all I seem to do around you is cry. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Blaine shook his head. "I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to be yourself with me. I… I had fun today as well, Kurt." Blaine had never wanted to kiss a man more than in this moment. He just wanted to close the gap between them and make all of Kurt's worries go away.

"Can we just go home?" Kurt asked, his voice fragile. "I mean, your apartment. I just…"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Blaine agreed, not daring to do anything. He felt like he had already messed up enough for one day. "Come on, we'll get a cab and go home."

Kurt nodded as he wiped the last few tears from his eyes. "Thanks. At least I learned one thing, tonight."

"Oh?" Blaine looked curiously at Kurt.

"I finally get why Emma is so small. She has two hobbits as biological parents."

Blaine laughed as he grabbed Kurt's hand to pull him up. "Yeah, I can't deny that. But good things come in small packages, right?"

"That they do."


	9. Chapter 9

Hi, I'm sorry it's so late, I'm sure it's still Sunday in a lot of places.

Busy, busy week, so no review replies, and I'm afraid I won't be able to do them next week either. I'll do my very best to get a chapter out next week Sunday, but I can't make any promises. I've got a few days off of work and I've got a ton of stuff planned, but I'll try my best, I promise!

Enjoy!

SB CH 9

"Thanks, again, Dad," Kurt said as he slumped down onto the couch. He had just returned from his trip in New York. He had hoped to see Emma when he came home, but thanks to delays and heavy traffic it was nearing midnight, so his daughter was already fast asleep in her own bed. He had thrown a look into Emma's room, but the girl was dead to the world, and he didn't have the heart wake her up.

"You're welcome. You deserved a break. Did you have fun?"

"Not counting the delays… I… Yeah, I did," Kurt said, smiling to himself. "I ran into Chandler."

Burt raised his eyebrows, curious. "Oh?"

"Hmm, yeah, I… Uhm, I kinda panicked." Kurt didn't look his father in the eye. "I might have told him Blaine and I were there on a romantic getaway."

"You did what?"

Kurt shrugged, playing with the hem of his shirt. "I don't know, I just… I didn't want him to think I was alone and desperate and… ugh, I don't know, Dad. I don't know why I did it." He frowned. Why did he do it? He could have easily told Chandler he was visiting a friend, which he was. Why did he have to make things unnecessarily complicated?

"I think I do," Burt said. Kurt turned his head and looked intrigued. "I think you didn't want him to think you need him. You want to show him you're doing okay on your own, that you're utterly and completely over him."

"I… Yeah, that might be it." Kurt nodded slowly, mulling over his father's theory. "I am. Over him, I mean. He was an ass, leaving me like he did."

"He was," Burt agreed.

"I can't believe… I never thought…" Kurt shook his head. "He wasn't the man I fell in love with when he left me. Or maybe he was, and I was just in love with this picture of him I created in my head. I don't know."

"I think he didn't want the same things as you," Burt answered. "You wanted a family; he wanted a career."

"But I thought he wanted a family too. I can't believe he blamed our failing marriage on Emma. She was two! How could she have anything to do with it?" Kurt asked.

"Maybe he did want a family, but not the responsibility that came with it. He wanted everything to be easy. It's not Emma's fault. Children are never easy, no matter how healthy or sick they are."

Kurt nodded. His dad always made sense.

"Does Blaine want a family?" Burt asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"Dad!" Kurt looked scandalized.

"What?" Burt grinned. "Come on, Kurt. I'm curious. Did you figure out your feelings for Blaine?"

"I…" Kurt was silent for a moment. Blaine had told him he wanted a family. He had told him he'd give it all up, his career, New York, just for the right guy. And Kurt did figure out his feelings. He was falling in love with Blaine, but he was pretty sure he wasn't that right guy for Blaine. "It's complicated."

"It's not," Burt contradicted. "Either you like him in more than a friendly way, or you don't."

"Dad," Kurt protested. "It's not that simple. It's Emma; it's the situation; it's the fact that we live hours apart."

"So you like him," Burt stated.

Kurt sighed, resting his head against the back of the couch. "I do. He's… he's amazing. He's sweet; he's great with Emma; he makes me feel things I haven't felt in years. He took me to _Wicked_, Dad!"

"Ah, finding the way to my son's heart through musicals. I think this man knows what he's doing."

Kurt smile faltered. "I don't think he feels the same way, though. There were some moments… where I- slipped up, but he never mentioned any of them."

"Maybe he's just afraid. It's quite an unusual situation you've got here. He's the biological father of your daughter, to whom he doesn't have any legal claim at all. Maybe he thinks you're just nice to him because you need him."

"But he's so, he's so lovable," Kurt said mindlessly. "He does these little things, and I just, I don't see him as Emma's biological father who gave up all his rights. I see him as Blaine, my friend, potentially more, who has a great connection with my daughter already. Who she loves, and who I could possibly love." Kurt sighed and shook his head. "I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Maybe it's for the best if nothing happens. It is already a complicated situation. A relationship would only complicate it further."

"The heart wants what the heart wants, Kurt. Don't think too much about it, just feel, okay?"

…

"Blaine is coming tomorrow; Blaine is coming tomooo-ooorroo-oow!" Emma was yelling from the top of her lunges.

"I knoo-oow," Kurt replied, laughing. "I didn't think you'd be this exited. It means you have surgery soon."

Emma frowned as she looked up at Kurt. "I… yeah, that's not so much fun."

"It's gonna be okay, you know that, right?" Kurt asked, as he sat down on the couch next to her. "You know what's going to happen?"

Emma nodded. "They're going to make a little cut here." She pointed at her stomach. "And put one of Blaine's kidneys, one that's working, in my belly." She held up her stuffed kidney she had gotten from the doctor a few weeks prior. When her doctor had explained the surgery to her, she had given Emma the toy so she would know what was actually happening within her body. "But it's not as this one. It's actually very small!"

"That's right, and after the surgery you need to stay a few days in the hospital, but you won't be alone because Blaine's gonna be there with you."

She nodded. "And you'll be there during the day!"

"I will," Kurt agreed. "And Grandma and Grandpa will come to visit and Uncle Finn."

"And I'll get presents! Tons and tons of presents!"

Kurt chuckled. "Probably."

"Papa…"

"Yes?" Kurt cocked his head as his daughter was frowning. She was sucking on her bottom lip and staring at her lap, deep in thought. Sometimes he wished he could read her mind, so he would always know what was bothering her. "Are you afraid?"

"No." She shook her head, making her curls bounce wildly.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Why is Blaine giving me his kidney? Why not you?"

Kurt sucked in a breath. He should have been expecting this question, really. Why would a stranger suddenly come in the picture and donate a kidney? It was a reasonable question, even for an eight-year-old. His daughter wasn't dumb. On the contrary. "Well, it's a bit complicated. If I could give you my kidney, I would." Kurt ran a hand trough her curls, twisting some between his fingers. "You see, people have different types of blood."

"How?" Emma asked as she looked up at her father curiously.

"I'm not a scientist, Sweetheart, but, some people have type A, others type B. You're a B, so that means you can only get another kidney from people that are a B. Does that make sense?"

She nodded. "And you're not a B?"

"No, I'm an A. If I was a B I'd give you one of my kidneys in a heartbeat."

"How come Blaine's a B, like me?"

What now? He could say it was just a coincidence. That Blaine happened to have the same blood type as her, after all there were only four blood types; it would be a logical explanation. Or he could tell her the truth.

"You know how Blaine has thick black curls?"

"Like mine!" Emma smiled. "I like his hair."

"Yeah, like yours. There's a reason you two have the same hair," Kurt continued, still playing with Emma's curls. "He… uhm… You remember how I told you your biological parents were very young when you were born and they couldn't take care of you? So they gave you to me to take care of you?"

"Yeah, you said they put me on this world to send me to the man that was supposed to my Papa, you!" Emma smiled brightly at him.

"That's right." Kurt paused for a moment, and helped Emma sit on his lap so she could hug him. Her head rested on his chest and he held her close. "And I'm so happy you're with me. I love you so much." His voice was quivering.

"I love you, too," Emma replied. "You're the best papa in the whole world."

"Oh, Sweetheart." Kurt shook his head and cuddled her even closer.

"He's my biological daddy, isn't he?" Emma asked, her voice very quiet.

Closing his eyes to stop the tears from staining his cheeks, Kurt nodded. "Yeah." They sat in silence for a few minutes. Kurt held Emma tight against him, as if she would disappear if he loosened his grip even a little bit. "It's not… it doesn't mean anything, really," he continued. "You're still my daughter."

"I know," Emma replied. "Is my biological mommy here as well?"

"No, she's somewhere in New York." Kurt didn't want to talk about Rachel; it would only make things more complicated. "She's not going to be here. Blaine's here because he wants to help you."

"Okay." Emma nodded against Kurt's chest.

…

Blaine was nervous. No, scratch that, Blaine was borderline hysterical. He was standing in front of Kurt's door, and he just hadn't the guts to lift his hand and ring the bell. Lady was sitting at his feet, her head cocked to the side and her tongue lolled out. She was looking up at Blaine with her wide black eyes and he sighed. "I'm pathetic, Girl." He shook his head and tried to gather some courage. It was just Kurt. Beautiful, compassionate, near-perfect Kurt, and his daughter, who now knew he was her biological father. Kurt had called him a few days prior, informing him he had told Emma.

"Blaine?"

The door suddenly opened and Blaine looked up with wide eyes.

"How long have you been standing there? Emma said she'd heard a car pull up, but that was almost 10 minutes ago."

"I…" Not knowing what to say, Blaine shrugged. He had taken a cab from the airport. Kurt had offered to pick him up, but Blaine honestly hadn't minded the silent ride here to gather his thoughts.

"Blaine, are you okay?"

He should say something. Kurt sounded really concerned. "I'm okay. Hi, sorry." He shook himself from his daze.

"O-okay…" Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Well, don't just stand there, come in."

Blaine nodded and followed Kurt into the house. He looked surprised as the living room had been rearranged. A bed was installed in a corner, a wardrobe was strategically placed next to it, and a privacy screen was at the foot of the bed, creating a little sheltered corner.

"I know you refuse to take my room," Kurt said with his signature eye roll, "so I got my dad to bring my old bed here and tried to make a little private place for you. I know it's not much, but we don't have an extra room, so this was the best I could come up with."

"Kurt," Blaine's voice quivered. "You didn't have to."

"I couldn't let you sleep on the couch the whole summer, now could I? It was nothing."

Blaine's head was all over the place. Kurt was standing there, smiling at him with this weird look in his eyes, and all he wanted to do was grab Kurt and kiss him senseless. He had almost done it a few weeks ago, when Kurt was in New York, but something came up every time he was gathering the courage to do so. Blaine loved Kurt. He was in love with Kurt. He was in love with his daughter's father, how messed up and utterly right sounded that at the same time? "Kurt…"

"Now, I wasn't sure what to do about Lady, so I got a dog blanket at the pet store and put it next to your bed. I also got some bowls and food. They're in the kitchen," Kurt said as he leaned down to scratch Lady behind her ears. He looked up at Blaine with a wide smile. "Emma's been looking forward to seeing you again."

"How… uhm… you told her..."

"I did," Kurt said, as he stood back up. "Is that why you're so nervous?"

Blaine nodded shortly.

"Oh, don't be. She hasn't mentioned it since I told her. I don't think she really cares."

"I don't want her to hate me," Blaine confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why would she hate you?" Kurt frowned. "Oh, because of the adoption? Blaine…" Kurt stepped closer and wound his arms around Blaine's shoulders, pulling him close. "Don't. She doesn't hate you. I always told her you and Rachel brought her into the world to bring her to her Papa." He could feel Blaine relax in his embrace, and his stomach swooped as Blaine put his hands around his waist and buried his face in Kurt's neck. "She was asking questions; I wanted her to know the truth. It'll be okay, you'll see." He could feel Blaine nod. With some disappointment he pulled back. "Emma, look who's here, Sweetie."

"Blaine?!" Emma came wheeling out of her room and into the living room in an instant. She looked like she was about to hug him before stopping a few feet from the man. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hi."

"Hey, Ems," Blaine said, still nervous. "I've missed you."

Emma nodded and looked anxiously at Kurt.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Kurt looked puzzled. "You were so excited to see Blaine."

She looked from her father to Blaine and sucked her bottom lip in her mouth, chewing on it, a nervous habit she had developed. "You're not going to take me away, right?"

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Emma, what are you talking about," Kurt sunk down so he was on eye-level with her. "Why would you think that?"

"Because he's my daddy, but I don't want to leave you Papa, I don't!" She shook her head fervently.

"Oh, Emma," Kurt sighed as he pulled her in a hug. "Have you been thinking that?" He closed his eyes as he felt her nod against his chest. "Sweetheart, of course not. You're staying here with me for the rest of your life, I promise."

Blaine bit his lip as he knelt down to look at her. "Emma, I'm not… I love you, okay, and I might be your biological father, but your papa raised you. He's your father. I'm just happy to know you. I'll never take you away from your papa, okay?"

She looked at him and nodded slowly.

"But you need to tell me something, little girl. If you're not comfortable with me staying at you and your papa's home, you need to tell me, and I'll find someplace else to stay." Blaine shook his head as Kurt started to protest. "I get that this is very confusing for you, but I just want what's best for you. That's why I gave you to your papa, because he's what's best for you."

"No, you can stay. Papa put a lot of work in your room."

"Well, he's pretty amazing like that, isn't he? He even lied and said it was no work at all."

Just like that, the ice was broken as Emma laughed. She held out her little arms so Blaine could give her a quick hug and a kiss against her cheek. "I brought an extra guest," Blaine told her, as he turned around to pick Lady up from the couch where she was already settled, making herself comfortable.

Emma's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as Blaine placed the small dog on her lap. "You have a dog?"

"I have," Blaine said. "Meet Lady. Lady, this is Emma."

"Papa didn't tell me you have a dog. What kind is she? Is she nice? Will she like me? Can I play with her? I always wanted a dog, but Papa never let me have one!" Emma exclaimed delightedly, hardly able to contain her excitement.

"And now you'll see exactly why. A dog is a lot of work," Kurt told her, but his words were ignored, as Lady was already enthusiastically licking at Emma's face, making the girl giggle with delight. He shook his head as he exchanged a look with Blaine. For a moment there, he had been afraid, but he was pretty sure everything would turn out fine.


	10. Chapter 10

**(I'm so, so sorry for all the confusion! I got it done yesterday, and uploaded it, but then I realized ff wasn't sending out any alerts so I took it back down. Now tonight apparently it sent ALL the alerts, so a lot of you got an alert for this chapter, but got send to chapter 9 instead, since I took this one back down and ugh... I'm so _so_ sorry! If in the future there's any confusion feel free to pm me or send me a message on tumblr (joycelikestumblr), like a lot of you did. Sorry, again!**

**Hi, Lovelies!**

**Sorry, again, no review replies, but at least I got the chapter done! I think you'll all like this one. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this :) so enjoy!**

**I feel the need to mention my lovely beta again, themuse19 for all her awesome work! You're the best!**

**SC CH 10**

"Kurt? Are you okay?" Blaine cocked his head as he saw Kurt coming back into the living room, shoulder slumped and his lips forced into a tight line.

Kurt shrugged and sat down on the couch next to Blaine. He laid his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. "Lady is sleeping on the foot of Emma's bed."

Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Oh?" He pretended to be annoyed for a moment, but secretly he was pleased their lives where coming together so nicely. "I guess I'll sleep alone then." When Kurt didn't' reply, Blaine turned so he could see Kurt. The man looked like he was on the edge of breaking out in tears. "Kurt?" he asked, concerned. This wasn't the man he'd gotten to know over the last few weeks. He looked… broken. Blaine bit his lip, contemplating what to do. Eventually he put one of his hands on Kurt's knee and squeezed in softly, hoping it'd reassure the other man.

Something inside Kurt gave way at the gesture and he shied away from Blaine's touch, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his head in his hands. His shoulders shook, and a choked-off noise escaped from his throat. "I'm so scared."

"You don't have to be scared." Blaine tried to sooth him. "It's gonna be okay."

"But what if it's not?" Kurt turned his head, staring Blaine straight in the eye. "What if something goes wrong?" He felt his chest tightening, making it difficult to breathe. "What if…." He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Hey, don't," Blaine said, as he scooted closer to Kurt and wrapped his arms around the man's shoulders, pulling him close, hoping to comfort him. "Everything will be okay. The doctor herself said it's practically a routine operation. They've done hundreds of those."

Kurt shagged against Blaine, burying his head against Blaine's chest, fisting his shirt so he had something to hold onto.

"The worst that can happen is that her body rejects my kidney," Blaine said softly. "And if that happens I promise I'll go search for Rachel and drag her here myself if I have to."

Kurt chuckled through his tears and shook his head. "That's not the worst. What if something goes wrong? What if," Kurt breathed in shakily, "what if I lose her?"

"You won't," Blaine said decisively. "You won't! Don't even think about that option, because it's not going to happen."

Kurt looked up through his tears to see Blaine staring at him intently. He's still going on, almost rambling, but Kurt barely heard the words. Kurt is sure it's a mantra of reassurance, and he loves how this man is trying to comfort him, while it should be the other way around. Kurt should be strong. He should be the strong one, the one comforting Blaine and Emma, but instead he's here, crumbling down in the arms of another man, a man that has quickly crept into his life in a few weeks, and suddenly it hit him. It's not just Emma, it's also Blaine. He could also lose Blaine. A strangled noise escaped from his throat as he sat up straight and clasped a hand in over his mouth.

"Kurt?" Blaine looked even more worried now.

"I could lose you as well," Kurt managed to choke out between pants of breath. "Oh, God, Blaine I don't want to lose you either." Kurt was falling apart. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop the doom scenarios from forming in his head. What if something went wrong during the surgery? What if he lost Blaine without even telling him how he felt? What if he never got to kiss the man he loved? Before he consciously realized what he was doing, Kurt was pressing his lips to Blaine's, hard.

If Blaine was surprised by this, he didn't show it. He opened his mouth and coaxed his way into Kurt's by swiping his tongue over Kurt's bottom lip. Kurt groaned in return and opened his mouth obediently, wrapping his hands in Blaine's hair and holding him close. His mind had wandered here the last few weeks, he can't deny that, but he never imagined it to happen like this, desperate and mingled with tears.

Blaine pulled back after a few minutes and rested his forehead against Kurt's. He opened his eyes and was surprised by how intently Kurt was staring at him. "Please, Blaine, please, I need this," Kurt pleaded.

Blaine swallowed and nodded. Getting off the couch and pulling Kurt up with him, he lead Kurt through the living room and into the bedroom and closed the door behind them. He didn't even have time to think about what this meant, because as soon as he closed the door behind them Kurt was all over him. He pressed their mouths back together and tangled his hands in Blaine's hair. He slowly walked backwards to the bed without breaking contact. When he felt the foot of the bed against his legs he sat down and pulled Blaine down with him. Blaine immediately pushed Kurt on his back crawled on top of him, his hands roaming over the man's body, slipping under his shirt and pulling it up, over his head. He broke the contact between their lips with a smack and leaned back, staring down at the man under him. He let one of his hands roam over Kurt, first his cheek, then over his neck to his chest. He softly kneaded a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and keened as Kurt curved his back to lean into the touch. One of Kurt's hands shot up and wrapped around his curls to pull his face closer again, to press their lips together a few short times between the delicious moans that escaped his throat.

Kurt was gasping for air. He felt like he was dreaming. For a moment he could pretend this was real, that he and Blaine connected through more than just Emma, that Blaine loved him. He keened as Blaine stared sucking just under his earlobe and let his legs fall open so Blaine could settle in between them and roll them together. He could feel Blaine twitching in his pants and he desperately wanted to feel him against his skin. He wanted to feel Blaine inside him, love him, but for now he'd take what he could get, so he wrapped his legs around Blaine's, hooking his feet behind Blaine's knees, and pressed up, rolling their hips together and creating a wonderful friction.

As soon as Kurt started grinding their hips together every coherent thought flew from Blaine's mind. All he knew is that he wanted more - more kisses, more skin, more connection. He pulled back slightly so he could pull his shirt off and threw it away carelessly. He moaned when their bare chests touched, and cupped Kurt's face in his hand. Kurt leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, and Blaine took the liberty of pressing fleeting kisses all over Kurt's face. If this is what Kurt wanted—needed - to forgot, he'd gladly help him.

"Please, Blaine," Kurt gasped. "Please, I need this. I need you."

Blaine moaned against Kurt's lips and nodded. He rolled off Kurt for a moment to shimmy out of his pants and underwear and saw Kurt do the same beside him. He gasped and stared as Kurt turned around to rummage through his bedside drawer. Kurt was leaning away, and he had a prefect view of Kurt's long legs, his ass, slightly bent towards him, and his back, curved up so he could see into the drawer and grab what he was looking for. Blaine couldn't help himself and reached forward to caress Kurt's ass. He softly stroked the skin, his breathing growing heavier. When Kurt turned around, condoms and lube in his hands and he saw Kurt's cock nestled against Kurt's stomach, long and thick, and he could swear he saw it twitch, he couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips. His hand wrapped around it on instinct and he squeezed it gently, before stroking up and down a few times. He could feel it twitch in his hand this time, and he quickly pounced back onto Kurt, pressing their lips together desperately. One of Kurt's hands clawed at his back, pulling him closer, and the other pressed the lube into Blaine's free hand.

He let go of Kurt's cock and pulled back, opening the bottle and generously coating his fingers. He saw Kurt begin to turn around and his lips opened, a desperate protest leaving his throat.

"What?" Kurt asked, looking confused.

"Don't…" Blaine shook his head, panting. "Don't turn around. Want to see you."

Kurt's eyes widened in surprise, but he nodded. He grabbed one of his pillows, and shoved it under his back to he was tilted and Blaine had easy access to his entrance. He breathed heavily and moaned as Blaine softly massaged the puckered skin around his rim. Blaine was sitting on his knees between Kurt's legs and was looking at him with a heavy gaze. Kurt's eyes fell on Blaine's cock, which was hard against Blaine's stomach. He couldn't wait to feel it in him, and he moaned and closed his eyes as Blaine's first finger slipped inside. Everything was a daze after that. He refused to open his eyes again. If he kept them closed, he could imagine this was so much more than it was. He could feel Blaine opening him up, sliding a second and eventually a third finger into him. He could feel Blaine leaning forward to press their lips together, and he imagined Blaine looking at him with love. He groaned in Blaine's mouth as the man twisted his fingers and brushed his prostate, and he could feel Blaine's cock twitch against his hip.

Blaine pulled his fingers out and rolled the condom on, coating himself generously with lube. He frowned as he saw Kurt lying under him. The man was panting heavily, but his eyes were screwed shut as if he were afraid to look at Blaine, and it almost broke Blaine's heart. He positioned his cock at Kurt's hole, and cupped Kurt's face gently. "Kurt," he whispered softly. "Kurt, please, open your eyes." Kurt shook his head and rolled his hips up so the tip of Blaine's cock slipped into him. It took all of Blaine's willpower, but he didn't push in like he wanted to. Instead he pressed his lips against Kurt's and kissed him for a few moments. "Please, Kurt," he pleaded. "I'm here, Love. Look at me."

Kurt's eyes flew open in shock at the endearment Blaine used, and he saw the man staring at him intently. He could feel Blaine stretching his rim, but the man didn't seem to care to push in deeper, because he was looking at Kurt with a heavy gaze. "Love?" Kurt managed to choke out, and Blaine smiled down at him, pressing their lips together as he finally sunk deeper into Kurt. Kurt moaned into Blaine's mouth, wrapping his legs around Blaine to keep him close. He could feel Blaine all around him, in him, with him, and it was the best feeling in the world. "Oh, God," he murmured against Blaine's lips, as the man started moving gently. He could feel Blaine stretching him, and he bucked his hips up so he slid in even deeper at the next thrust. His hands were roaming all over Blaine's body, his back, his neck, his back again, and eventually against his ass, pushing him deeper with every thrust. He mumbled Blaine's name over and over, and he couldn't keep his eyes off the man's face for even a minute. Blaine was looking at him like he was everything, and that was exactly as Kurt needed. Blaine was here, here with him, and that was all that mattered in this moment. He didn't even hold back as Blaine wrapped his hand around Kurt's shaft, and started pumping him in synch with his thrusts. His back curled up, so their chests were pressed flush together. He kept staring in Blaine's eyes as he stared to come, spurting between their bodies and coating them both. He clamped down on Blaine, and he could feel Blaine still his hips not even a minute later and twitch inside him. It was Blaine who broke the eye contact between them to press their lips together desperately.

Kurt's legs fell from around Blaine's hips, but he tightened his arms around Blaine's shoulders, afraid to let go. "Blaine," he whined over and over again. "Blaine."

"I'm here," Blaine assured him. "I'm here, Love."

The word made Kurt's chest tighten. He wasn't sure what it meant, or if Blaine even meant it. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing, but he wouldn't let it ruin this moment for him. All he wanted to know was that Blaine was here, with him. He could feel Blaine slipping out of him, and he whined at the loss. He didn't want Blaine to go, so he tightened his grip on the man. He could feel Blaine chuckle against him, and wrap his arms around Kurt's middle, to pull them flush together. He didn't even care that his come was drying and sticking between them, or that the lube was drying up in his hole. He'd deal with that tomorrow. All he wanted now was to have Blaine here with him, and he refused to let him move away.

…

Kurt woke up the next morning alone. The empty space next to him was cold, and a sudden fear washed over him. He hadn't fucked everything up last night, had he? Blaine hadn't run, he wouldn't, right? Kurt sat up and shivered. He grabbed a shirt from the floor- Blaine's he noticed, so the man must still be here- and his boxer shorts and climbed out of the bed. Pulling on a pair of sweatpants and opening the bedroom door, he was hit by the scent of fresh pancakes, so he hurried to the kitchen to find Blaine and Emma sitting at the table, devouring a stack each. Blaine smiled widely as he saw Kurt and patted the empty chair next to him.

"Blaine made pancakes!" Emma exclaimed loudly. "He's the best."

"He did?" Kurt asked as he sat down next to Blaine. He felt nervous; he didn't know what to do. He wanted to look at Blaine, make sure they were okay, but he was afraid that looking at Blaine would make him break down, so he didn't.

"I sure did," Blaine agreed as he grabbed another plate for Kurt. "Since it's the last decent breakfast Emma and I are going to have for a while, I figured we might as well make it count." He poured a generous amount of syrup on Kurt's stack. "I hope they're good."

"Thefy're amaaaaa-aaafing," Emma replied around a mouthful of pancake.

"Don't talk while you're eating," Kurt and Blaine said in unison.

Kurt turned his head at Blaine in surprise and he saw the man staring back at him. Blaine was smiling at him, but not his normal thousand-watt grin. It was softer, almost private, the way he had smiled at Kurt last night when they had drifted off into sleep. Kurt bit his lip and blushed furiously as he turned to his stack of pancakes. He almost choked on his first bite when he felt Blaine squeeze his knee softly under the table. He must have startled Blaine, because the hand was gone as soon as it had appeared, and when he glanced at the man out of the corner of his eyes he saw Blaine frowning. He wanted to grab Blaine and press a kiss to his lips, reassure both himself and Blaine about whatever this was, but he didn't. Emma was sitting right in front of them, and he needed to focus on her now. He needed to get her washed up and dressed, and he needed to get both Emma and Blaine to the hospital so they could get the last examinations and preparations for tomorrow's big operation over with.

…

"I'm so happy they put us in the same room," Blaine said as he tried to get comfortable on the hospital bed, "so I won't be stuck alone with a 70-year old man who wets his bed every night."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't be alone; I would have visited."

"Hmm, maybe." Blaine wiggled. "But I would have insisted that you stay with Emma." He hopped off the bed and walked to the window. "The view could have been better though." He turned to look at Kurt. "Will you bring me flowers tomorrow? To brighten the place up?"

"I… well, sure, if that makes you happy," Kurt said, smiling softly. "You're awfully chipper, considering you're going under the knife tomorrow morning."

Blaine hummed. "I just… I'm positive." Blaine beamed as he looked at Kurt. "I think everything will work out just fine."

"Oh," Kurt smiled. Emma was away for, what he hoped would be, her last dialyses, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone. Blaine was in a hospital gown, getting ready to have his catheter, his hair was ungelled, and he was walking around in his socks, but he still looked beautiful to Kurt, especially since Kurt knew what was under the gown. Blaine had a gorgeous body. You could see his years of dancing paid off. Last night was still fresh on his mind, but he didn't know what to say about it. "Thank you, for doing this," Kurt whispered.

"I promised I would, didn't I? You didn't think I'd suddenly take off?" Blaine frowned as he sat on the edge of his bed. He cocked his head and looked at Kurt. "You did?"

Kurt shrugged.

"I… because of last night?" Blaine asked.

Kurt shrugged again. "I was afraid you'd maybe run off after…"

"But… why?" Blaine looked confused. Last night had been wonderful in his opinion. He had taken a liking to Kurt as he'd laid eyes on him, and his crush had grown into something more the better he gotten to know Kurt. Last night he had assumed Kurt felt the same, but maybe he was wrong.

"I didn't mean to… jump you," Kurt tried to explain. "I just, I was so emotional and I wasn't thinking."

"Sometimes you don't have to think too much," Blaine said. "You just have to feel." And Blaine was pretty sure about what he felt, but he wasn't so sure about what Kurt felt. Last night he thought they had connected. It was so much more; it felt like so much more than just sex. "Kurt…" Blaine was interrupted by the nurse who came in to place his catheter. As he lay down his mind was reeling. Had he really taken Kurt's feelings the wrong way? Didn't Kurt care for him beyond friendship?


	11. Chapter 11

**So, who is from Europe and has watched Eurovision last night? Personally I preferred The Netherlands and Hungary, but Denmark was a very typical Eurovision number, I'm not surprised they won.**

**Enjoy the chapter, sorry for not replying (again, I suck, I know). I'll really try my best this week! I promise.**

CH 11

Waiting wasn't one of Kurt's virtues, he had to admit that. In fact, none of the Hummel men were very patient guys. If they wanted something, they wanted it now! Often, that quality was combined with determination. If they wanted something, they went for it. Kurt had seen it in his father years ago, when he had first met Carole. There hadn't been a single doubt in Burt's mind, he knew what he wanted and he had gone for it. Kurt had shown the same quality since he was five and he wanted that tea party for his birthday instead of the Star Wars theme his dad had in mind. Over the years those qualities had only developed more. Kurt knew he wanted Chandler from the moment he met him in the music store during his senior year, and not two days later they had gone out on their first date. Roughly a year later Kurt wanted a job at Vogue, so he practically invaded their office until they gave him an interview with Isabelle herself.

Yes, what Kurt Hummel wanted, Kurt Hummel got, but at the moment his patience was put to the test. Granted, over the years he had gotten better at waiting. After all, children don't just learn to eat on their own over the span of half an hour. But when his daughter and the man he loved were undergoing surgery, his patience ran out fairly quickly.

Currently, he was browsing through the latest issue of _Marie Claire_, but his mind wasn't on it. He was absentmindedly turning one page after the other, waiting for Blaine to come out of the recovery room.

One down, one to go.

Although he would feel better if Blaine was in the room with him, so he could see for himself he was doing okay, Kurt felt like he could breathe a little easier knowing that the surgery had gone well and Blaine should be awake soon.

Kurt practically jumped out of his chair when the door opened and the nurses pushed Blaine's bed into the room.

"Look who's back with us."

"Blaine!" Relief flooded through Kurt's voice as he grabbed the man's hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm so happy to see you."

"M'always happy to see you," Blaine mumbled, softly squeezing back. "So tired."

"That's completely normal, Mr. Anderson," The nurse informed them. "You should rest today."

Blaine nodded and closed his eyes, his head falling to the side to cuddle into his pillow.

"It's possible he'll be a bit drowsy from the anesthesia, so don't take anything he says too personally," the nurse said. "You should try to get him to drink a glass of water within the hour. We'll be back soon to check up on him, okay?"

Kurt nodded as he positioned his chair so he was sitting close to Blaine. The nurses changed something on his IV before leaving them alone again. Blaine was still holding his hand tightly like it was a lifeline, so Kurt brushed a few curls from Blaine's forehead in hopes of soothing him. It seemed to work, as Blaine turned his head and nuzzled into Kurt's palm. Kurt chuckled softly at this, since it was something Emma often did as well after he put her to bed and she was slowly falling asleep.

"Kurt?" Blaine's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"I like the flowers."

Kurt let out a low chuckle. "You'd better. I went to get them while you were in surgery."

"They're pretty."

"I promised you I'd get you flowers, didn't I?" Kurt looked at the flowers on Blaine's nightstand. He had been at the hospital in the wee hours of morning, to keep Blaine and Emma company before their surgery. After both of them had been taken away or, he had driven to the florist to get the flowers, a small bouquet of lilies for Emma, and red and yellow roses for Blaine.

"Red roses are for love," Blaine suddenly murmured. His voice sounded drowsy, and Kurt suspected he was falling asleep.

"You should drink a little, Blaine," Kurt insisted as he held the glass to Blaine's lips. As Blaine took a few sips, Kurt tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. He knew the meaning behind the roses: yellow for friendship, red for love. He had chosen them specifically, but he hadn't expected Blaine to understand the message. Kurt was torn on his feelings. Kurt had spent the whole night tossing and turning in his bed, replaying everything that happened, trying to figure out exactly what this _thing_ between them was. His bed still smelled like Blaine, which didn't really help matters. Eventually, he had come to a conclusion about his own feelings. He loved Blaine. He was_ in_ love with Blaine. It was as simple as that. And the night before, when they had slept together… Kurt hadn't felt so connected with anyone like that since Chandler. Now the only problem was that Blaine might not feel the same way. Blaine, who told him he had never been in a serious relationship. Blaine, who had told him he wanted a serious relationship, but he hadn't found the right man yet. Blaine, who had told him he did casual relationships for sex. That was what Kurt was afraid of, that their night together had been just that for Blaine, a casual thing. Blaine was gorgeous, Kurt was fairly attractive (if he said so himself), so why wouldn't they have some fun together, right?

"Thanks, Love," Blaine sighed as he closed his eyes again. There it was again. 'Love.' Blaine had used the endearment several times two nights ago, and every time he did it, he gave Kurt hope, hope he probably shouldn't have.

Blaine's breath had evened out, and Kurt was fairly sure he had fallen asleep, since the death grip on his hand had been loosened. He brushed a few curls out of Blaine's face again (he saw now why he used to gel them down; they fell everywhere), and pressed a lingering kiss against his cheek. He caressed Blaine's face with the palm of his hand for a few moments, before softly admitting what he wouldn't dare to say if Blaine was awake. "I love you."

…

Blaine was pretty sure he had fallen back asleep and he was dreaming. He vaguely remembered coming out of the recovery and getting back to his hospital room where Kurt had been waiting for him. The man in question had seemed relieved to see him, which delighted Blaine. Of course, any attention from Kurt seemed to cause this reaction nowadays. Blaine lived for the phone calls and texts that they exchanged. A simple 'good morning' brightened his days notably.

He remembered getting to his room, he remembered thanking Kurt for the roses, and he remembered Kurt helping him drink some water. That's the point at which he must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew was that Kurt was telling him he loved him.

Blaine was also pretty sure he didn't want to wake up from this dream, the dream where Kurt was caressing his face and brushing his curls from his forehead, where Kurt was pressing a kiss against his cheek and saying he loved him. Dream-Kurt loved Blaine.

Blaine was pretty sure this was the best dream ever. He should thank the nurses later on for whatever pain medication they were giving him that caused him to sleep and dream so wonderfully.

Since it was his dream, Blaine figured he was able to react like he wanted to. He didn't need to hold back his feelings, because this dream-Kurt loved him! So he did what he'd do if the situation was real, and he grabbed the hand (his dream-hand!) that was caressing his face and turned to press a kiss against the knuckles. He was feeling drowsy (Why did he feel drowsy, even in his dreams?) but he wanted to say something. It was his dream; it should go like he wanted it to! He smacked his lips a few times and moistened them a bit with his tongue. "Love you, too," he finally managed to murmur to dream-Kurt.

…

Kurt's eyes widened and his throat felt suddenly too dry. He was sure he had heard wrong. Blaine was asleep. Blaine should be asleep. He was pretty sure Blaine was asleep… But how to explain the three words Blaine had just mumbled?

There should be a logical explanation. Maybe Kurt had heard wrong. Maybe Blaine had said… something else, something that just sounded a lot like 'love you, too'. He couldn't think of anything right away, but there must be a sentence that resembled these words. Maybe Blaine had mistaken him for someone else, maybe his ex, Andreas, even though Kurt knew they had split up on bad terms, and Blaine had told him he didn't care for the man. Maybe he thought Kurt was his mom, his brother, or even Emma. Maybe Blaine was dreaming. Yes, dreaming was a logical explanation. He was probably dreaming. That must be it.

Kurt closed his eyes and tried to even out his breath at his final thought. Maybe Blaine simply had heard him, and maybe Blaine felt the same. Maybe there was a tiny possibility that Blaine was as in love with Kurt as vise versa. Maybe… there were a lot of 'maybes' in his thought process, Kurt realized. Maybe he should just wait to see what happened when Blaine was conscious again.

Why wasn't dream-Kurt holding him any more? Blaine didn't get it. This was his dream, right? He forced his eyes to open and blinked as the harsh light hit his eyes. He turned his head slightly and saw that Kurt was bent over the bed next to his. Emma. That must be Emma; she must be back from her surgery. He cleared his throat, and called out for her. "Emma?"

"Hey, Blaine," Kurt hushed him as he turned around. "She's sleeping."

"She's okay?" He frowned. Hadn't he just come back from his own surgery a few minutes ago? He must have been asleep longer than he thought.

"Yeah, she came back ten minutes ago. She's okay, everything went well."

"Good." Blaine closed his eyes and nodded. "If she wakes up, tell her I love her."

"Papa?"

"Hey, Sweetie." Kurt turned back to Emma's bed as soon as he heard her voice. Blaine saw him bending over and pressing a kiss against the top of her head. He could hear Kurt repeat his earlier words and smiled when Emma replied she loved him as well. It suddenly hit him hard how much he actually loved these two people. He needed to let him know. He wanted to talk to Kurt, explain everything. He wanted to tell the man he was in love with him, and he wanted to be with him and Emma; he wanted to be a family.

…

Kurt pressed a soft kiss against Emma's head, trying not to wake her. He really had to get home; it was already way past visiting hours. Emma opened her eyes and looked confused. "Papa, where am I?"

"You're at the hospital, Sweetheart. You had your surgery earlier, remember?"

She nodded and closed her eyes again, grabbing her father's hand and holding it close.

"I need to go, Sweetie. It's way past visiting hours. I can't stay," Kurt tried to explain, gently stroking her forehead.

"No, Papa, don't go," Emma whined as she squeezed Kurt's hand tighter. "I don't want you to go, I don't want to be alone. I'm scared."

"Oh, Honey." Kurt's heart broke at the face of his daughter. She truly looked frightened. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Blaine's here as well, remember? He's right there beside you." He pointed at Blaine who had turned his head and was watching the scene with drowsy eyes.

"Yeah, I'm here, Ems," Blaine confirmed. "Papa needs to sleep as well. He needs to go home to his bed."

"No, no, he needs to stay here," Emma protested, her voice catching and tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "I need my Papa. Don't leave me. You promised you'd never leave me."

"Emma, I'm not leaving you. I'll be back first thing in the morning, I promise." Kurt bit his lip. He didn't know what to do or say to comfort her. She was sobbing in earnest now, shoulders shaking and tears streaming down her face. "Emma, please, Sweetheart. Blaine is here, and the nurses are here."

"No, Papa, please!"

"Hey, everything okay in here?" A nurse came in the room, looking at the scene in front of her hesitantly. "I'm working the night shift, and I just came to check if everything's okay, which obviously it isn't. What's wrong, sweet girl?"

"Pa-ha-ha-pa nee-heeds to sta-haay," Emma managed to choke out between sobs.

"Are you afraid?" The nurse asked, gently.

"I don't get it, yesterday she was fine." Kurt shook his head as Emma kept pulling on his shirt until Kurt pressed her close to his chest. He tried to sooth her- holding her close, rubbing her back, pressing kisses against the top of her head-but nothing seemed to help.

"I'm sure it's all the emotion from the surgery. It's a lot to deal with. And I'm sure the anesthesia isn't helping. She's probably still feeling a little drowsy and it's scaring her. If you want to, you can stay."

"Really?" Kurt looked surprised. "I thought that wasn't allowed since it's a double room."

"Well, normally we're a bit stricter in double rooms, but as long as her roommate doesn't mind, we don't mind either, and since he's her father, I'm assuming your partner is okay with this," the nurse winked.

"Partner?" It took Kurt a few moments to realize what she meant. "Oh, yeah, no, I... I'm sure he won't mind."

"I'll bring you a blanket and pillow and show you how to make the chair into a bed."

"I, yeah that would be great, thanks," Kurt smiled, not even bothering to correct her assumption that Blaine was his partner. It's not like it mattered; he would probably never see this nurse again after this hospital stay. "Did you hear that, Sweetheart? I'm staying with you, okay?"

Emma nodded against his chest, finally calming down; her sobs changing into hiccups and sniffling.

"You don't mind, right?" Kurt asked, looking at Blaine. He had just assumed he wouldn't.

"Its fine, partner," Blaine said teasingly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh, yeah, I just… it's a complicated situation, you know. I don't feel like explaining it to everyone," Kurt said, biting his lip. "If you mind I can tell her."

"It's okay," Blaine answered, suppressing a yawn. "I don't mind." He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep. He was having such weird dreams today. First dream-Kurt was telling him he loved him, and now he was referring to Blaine as his partner. Best dreams ever!


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry it's a day late, I had an extremely busy weekend. (Also, I finally saw **_**The Great Gatsby**_**, and I really liked it! Who saw it/is planning to see it, and what did you think?)**

**I'm going to add a new one-shot in my bravid/klaine verse later tonight, so look out for that. (Do they have a name? Should I call it **_**the klaivid verse**_**?)**

**Many, many thanks to Themuse19, for being an awesome beta!**

CH 12

"Okay, careful," Kurt said as he supported Blaine as he walked into the house.

"Kurt, please, I'm fine. I can walk on my own, you know."

"I'm just worried; let me be worried about you." Kurt's answer was accompanied by a glare that was enough to shut Blaine up. "I can carry Emma, but you're a bit too large for me, so at least let me help you."

"Sure." Blaine shook his head fondly. Not that he minded having Kurt close to him. In fact, any excuse to have Kurt close was good. Maybe he should lean on Kurt a little more.

"We'll get you settled on the bed in the living room, okay? Emma's going on the couch for the afternoon, and I've pushed the bookcase aside so you can see her. I'll put it back tonight."

Blaine frowned. He really didn't want to sleep in the living room. Not unless it was with Kurt. He had spent the last week in the hospital longing for more than a touch of the hands or a stolen look when Kurt thought he wasn't watching. He wasn't sure what the man in question was feeling, but it must be something. Something more than… this, whatever this was. He needed to have a serious talk with Kurt, and soon rather than later, because this was killing him. He had the most wonderful dreams these past, and he needed to make them happen!

As soon as Blaine was settled on the bed, Kurt hurried back to the car to get Emma, giving Blaine a few moments to gather himself. He closed his eyes and pictured Kurt's face as he repeated the sentence he had said a million times in his head. _I love you, Kurt; I want to be with you; I want us to be a family._ He had tried to say it to Kurt numerous times over the past week but something always seemed to get in the way - either the nurses, or visitors. It seemed like he had no privacy at all in the hospital.

"Here you go, Sweetheart." Kurt came back into the living room with Emma in his arms. He positioned her on the couch carefully. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Papa," Emma said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm not dying. The doctor said I could sit up if I wanted to."

Blaine grinned at the fierceness in her voice. Kurt would have a hard time containing both of them.

"Can't a father be worried about his daughter?" Kurt said, a little over dramatic. "I just want you to be comfortable. I didn't think you'd mind getting a little spoiled."

"Go spoil Blaine, he likes it," came her cheeky answer. "He likes it a lot." She clasped her hand over her mouth and tried to suppress her giggles as Kurt stared at her, jaw slack. Blaine started to blush as he bit his lips. He couldn't deny what she said, but he also couldn't believe she'd caught on it. At least he didn't have to worry about her approval.

"He… I… what do you mean?" Kurt spluttered. "I don't know, I mean-"

The bell rang, interrupting his incoherent speech, and he hurried to the door. He couldn't believe what just happened. Emma might have been teasing, but it showed Kurt she was okay with whatever would possibly happen. If anything would happen.

"Hey, Bud," Burt greeted him as Kurt opened the door. "How's it going?"

Kurt shook his head and stepped aside to let Burt, Carole and Finn in. "I'm not sure," he murmured before closing the door behind them. "Finn, I didn't know you were coming."

"I hope it's okay," Finn said, trying to contain Lady who was struggling in his arms. "Mom said Emma would like my visit, and she needed me to carry the dog."

"I'm sure she will," Kurt said as he saw his step-mom and step-brother disappear into the living room. A few loud barks from Lady and a yell from Finn showed that the dog had escaped from Finn's grip and the exited squeal from Emma told him she had jumped on the couch and probably started licking all over Emma's face. He should gather himself and go into the living room, join them, but he couldn't seem to get his feet to move.

"Kurt, Son, are you okay?"

Kurt tried to control his breathing as he looked to Burt.

"Kurt?" Burt looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Do you think it'll work out?" he blurted.

"I'm sure the operation went fine, the doctor's said so-"

"No," Kurt interrupted his dad, shaking his head. "No I mean, Blaine and I. Do you think we'll be able to make it work? With Emma, and the fact that he lives in New York. He's only here for the summer, how does that work, how will we have a future? And Emma, she's his daughter, but he doesn't have any legal claims to her. I'm pretty sure that the fact that he's here is breaking some of the adoption rules. How can it ever work? I just-"

"Kurt, you're rambling," Burt said as he put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Did you talk to Blaine about this?"

"No." Kurt shook his head. "It's just, Emma mentioned something, and I don't want to start something that'll only hurt her in the end."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes." Kurt didn't need to think about that answer.

"And does he love you?"

"I…" Kurt bit his lip and thought back to the previous week. There was the unconscious 'I love you', but there was more than that - Blaine holding him a little longer than he was supposed to, brushing their hands together not so subtly, the looks. "I think he does."

"Then talk to him. Don't panic; don't make up doom-scenarios in your head. Take your time, and talk to him. Talk about Emma, about your living situation, even talk about the adoption stuff. Sort it out. If you really love him and he loves you, you'll find a way." Burt smiled and patted his son on the shoulder.

"I… I will," Kurt decided. "Thanks Dad, you always knew how to calm me down."

"I've had plenty of practice over the years," Burt said in a teasing voice. "Now let's go see my favorite granddaughter."

Kurt nodded as he followed his dad into the living room. The sight he was greeted with pulled on his heartstrings. Blaine had moved from the bed to the couch (he was going to scold him later, Blaine shouldn't tire himself) and was petting Lady excessively. Emma had pulled herself in a sitting position and was leaning into Blaine's side, who put an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head fondly. Carole was shaking her head and laughing at something Finn had probably done. As soon as Blaine caught sight of Kurt he smiled at him and motioned for him to come join them on the couch. There wasn't much room left, but Kurt managed to squeeze himself between the armrest and Blaine. As soon as he sat down Lady jumped from Blaine's lap to his own and demanded his attention. He gave in easily and scratched her behind her ears. He had missed her. She had spent the week with his parents while Blaine and Emma were in the hospital. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught Blaine looking at him with bright eyes and a smile to match. He took a deep breath before grabbing Blaine's hand, intertwining their fingers between them. They were squished together on the couch and he was sure nobody could see their hands, which was good, because he and Blaine needed to talk first, but the smile that widened even further on Blaine's face made the decision ever so easy for him. He loved Blaine and they were going to talk, seriously, and soon!

…

"Blaine, go back to bed!" Kurt scolded for the third time. "You've followed me from the living room to the bathroom, back to the living room and then to Emma's room like a lost puppy. You just got home from the hospital. You need to rest."

"Oh, come on, Kurt. I feel fine. I wanna help you put Emma to bed," Blaine pleaded, looking at Kurt with big eyes and a pouty smile.

"I've done it on my own for the last five years, I think I can manage putting my daughter to bed," Kurt said, shaking his head. "I want you to rest.

"Okay." Blaine gave in with a sigh as he settled down on the bed next to Emma who was looking at both of them with a curious expression. "I'll rest; you read us a bed time story."

Kurt rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "How will I survive the summer?"

"By giving me what I want," Blaine grinned as Kurt sat on the edge of the bed. He discreetly touched Kurt's thigh and smiled as Kurt looked at him with a soft expression. Kurt had surprised him earlier in the afternoon when he had grabbed Blaine's hand and held it tightly. He had let go after a while to get everybody some drinks and neither man had mentioned it since, but Blaine was pretty sure it meant something good.

"And what do you want?" questioned Kurt, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

_You._ It was on the tip of Blaine's tongue, but Emma beat him to it.

"I want my daddies to stop fighting and read me a bed time story," she announced.

Blaine's eyes widened almost comically. Had he just heard her right, had she just referred to himself and Kurt as 'her daddies'? Technically they were that, of course, but she had never given any indication that she thought of Blaine like a father. He glanced at Kurt, who was looking at Emma with a soft look in his eyes.

"No, Sweetheart, we're not… fighting, we're just teasing, that's all," Kurt said, while Blaine let out a breath he didn't realized he had been holding. For a moment there he had thought Kurt would deny it, that he would tell Emma that Blaine wasn't her dad. Blaine closed his eyes and swallowed away the lump that had formed in his throat because this was what he wanted. He wanted his daughter; he wanted Kurt; he wanted this to be his family. "Okay, let's read you a story."

Two stories and a song later, Kurt had to help Blaine pry Emma from his chest. Somewhere between the second story and the song, she had curled herself around Blaine, her arms wound tight around his stomach and her head resting on his chest. For a moment Kurt had contemplated laeving Blaine in the bed with Emma - it looked like he had been asleep as well - until he had opened his eyes and smiled softly at Kurt, saying he should help him get up. As soon as Emma had curled herself around her teddy bear and Lady had found her place at the foot of the bed, they closed her bedroom door behind them. Neither man was sure what to say, so they stood there in the living room, staring at each other.

"Kurt-"

"Blaine-"

Kurt ducked his head and chuckled. "You go first."

Blaine smiled and grabbed both Kurt's hands, intertwining their fingers and letting their arms hang between them. "I can't believe Lady has abandoned me."

At this Kurt snorted. "That was so not what you were going to say, but I feel your pain, I really do."

"Hmm, no."

"Okay, so I don't. I never had a pet, but I can imagine-"

"Kurt," Blaine interrupted him. "I mean, 'no, that wasn't what I was going to say'."

"Oh," Kurt breathed. He suddenly felt very nervous. "I… Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Blaine's face fell. He looked at their hands, still clasped together, and suddenly felt very small. "Why?"

Kurt pulled his hand back and wrapped his arms around himself. He felt vulnerable, too vulnerable, and he didn't like it. "I'm tired; I just wanna sleep. It's been a rough week."

Blaine nodded. It must have been for Kurt. He had spent the last week lying in a hospital bed, but Kurt had run from one place to another. "Promise me you won't find another excuse not to talk tomorrow?"

"What?" Kurt's head shot up.

"It's just, ever since we slept together last week I feel like you've seized every opportunity to avoid talking to me."

"I've talked to you," Kurt protested.

"I mean really talk, Kurt, talk about what happened between us. We've spent the last week surrounded by doctors, nurses, Emma, your family ,…" He sighed. "I just, I want to know we're on the same page here. Because one minute I feel like we are, and the next you pull away from me and I just… I don't know."

Kurt looked at Blaine, who had refused to meet his eyes during his speech, and lowered his arms. He twisted his hands together and let the guilt wash over him. He had been so worried about how Blaine might or might not feel he had completely overlooked the fact that the man in question might be struggling with the same issues. "I… I guess it depends on which page you're on."

Blaine looked up at him and let out a humorless chuckle. "Really? God, Kurt, I thought it was obvious. I love you. I've been crazy, head over heels, in love with you for weeks now." Kurt's eyes widened. "I've had feelings for you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and I tried to fight them! I tried to think of Emma, but then you came to New York and I fell even more for you." Blaine shook his head and closed his eyes. "And I tried to ignore it, I really did. I told myself it was for Emma, you only liked me because of what I was doing for her, but then last week you broke down and you cried and all I could think was how I never wanted to see you cry again. When you said you were afraid of losing me as well, I though you did feel something for me, maybe not the same, but definitely something, so I let myself go. I went with the moment and it was wonderful. It was the best…" Blaine blushed and paused for a moment. "… well, I mean, it never felt like that, with anyone, and then the next morning you acted like nothing happened and I just don't know anymore, okay?"

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt said in a soft voice.

"God, I'm making a fool out of myself, aren't I?" Blaine shook his head. "Ugh, never mind all that. I'm an idiot. Let's just go to bed and forget this ever happened and tomorrow I'll- hmmpf"

Blaine was suddenly cut off by a pair of lips that pressed against his own. It was very short, and before he fully realized what was going on Kurt had already pulled back. He smiled as he opened his eyes and looked right into Kurt's. "So maybe I'm not an idiot?"

Kurt laughed and cupped his face to pull their lips back together. "I think I can say you're my idiot now."

"Your idiot, yeah, I like the sound of that," Blaine decided before pressing another short kiss against Kurt's lips. "So, does this mean…" he trailed off.

"Honestly, I don't know what this means," Kurt said, shaking his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe he had just done that but it felt so right. He tightened his grip on Blaine. "I know we have a lot to talk about. We live in different states to start, and there's Emma."

Blaine bit his bottom lip and nodded. He knew. He knew this wouldn't be easy. "But-"

Kurt cut him off again by pressing their lips together once more, a little longer this time. He swept his tongue softly over Blaine's upper lip before pulling back. "But I know I love you, too."

"I… you do?" Blaine looked at Kurt, amazed. "You do?"

"I do," Kurt chuckled. "I love you, and I promise we'll talk tomorrow, but I wasn't lying before. I really am tired."

"Oh, yeah, of course," Blaine stuttered. "I'm sorry, I've been rambling on and on, and you said you were tired but I was freaking out and-"

"Blaine."

"What?"

"You're rambling again." Kurt bit his lip, suppressing a grin.

"Oh, sorry." Blaine ducked his head and smiled. He looked back up into Kurt's eyes hopefully. "So, we'll talk tomorrow, right?"

"Yes," Kurt promised.

Blaine nodded. "Okay, so I guess I should go to sleep."He looked sideways at the bed in the living room with a frown. He loved that Kurt made him a makeshift little room but now that he knew that Kurt loved him back, he didn't want to be separated from him. He sighed, looking at their still-intertwined hands. "Okay, sleep."

"I…" Kurt glanced at the bed in the living room as well, clearly conflicted. "You… I haven't had a good night's sleep since the night guys went to the hospital."

"Oh?" Blaine frowned. That was the night they'd slept together. Did Kurt mean to say …? He looked at Kurt and saw that the man was biting his bottom lip nervously. "Kurt?"

"Just, sleep, okay? Nothing more. I'm too tired and I want to have that talk first, but I don't want to sleep alone after this and I-"

Blaine cut him off by pressing their lips together again. "Just sleeping sounds perfect to me. I'm not sure what I'm allowed to do with my incision anyway."

"Oh," Kurt chuckled. "Right, I almost forgot about that. Does it hurt?"

Blaine shrugged as Kurt turned and pulled both of them toward the bathroom. "Sometimes. If I laugh, or put some pressure on it."

Kurt nodded and grabbed two toothbrushes from the sink, handing one to Blaine. He looked down at their hands and laughed softly. "Can I have my hand back?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Blaine blushed a bright red and let go of Kurt's hand quickly. "Sorry, I-"

"No, no," Kurt shook his head. "It's okay, I get it."

Blaine smiled brightly at Kurt in the mirror, as both man started to prepare for bed. When Blaine was finished he leaned back against the sink and just watched Kurt as he went through his evening skin care routine. His smile softened every time Kurt glanced his way. He knew he probably resembled a love struck puppy, but he couldn't care. He was one. He was so in love.

"What?" Kurt looked self-conscious as he put away his last bottle. "You know I care for my skin."

"I know," Blaine nodded and stepped a bit closer, grabbing Kurt by the waist and pulling him close. "I love it." He pressed a sweet kiss against the tip of Kurt's nose. "Your skin is so soft." He stroke his thumb over Kurt's jaw line. "No stubble, just smooth skin. I love touching you."

"Blaine," Kurt ducked his head, his face flushed.

"I'm allowed to say that now, aren't I?" Blaine said, tipping Kurt's chin up and pressing a series of fleeting kisses against Kurt's cheek, his nose, his lips. "I love your skin."

"I… that's probably the strangest compliment anyone has ever given me."

"People should compliment your skin all the time," Blaine insisted, still nuzzling Kurt's face. "In fact, I'm strongly considering starting a fan club."

Kurt laughed as he wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, pressing them flush together. "Bed?"

"Sounds good."

Kurt was surprised by how normal everything felt. Not one awkward moment arose between them: Not when they walked to the bedroom, close together because neither one was prepared to let the other one go; not when they got changed; and not when they had to pick a side of the bed. It seemed like they had been doing this for years. Blaine had picked the right side of the bed (come to think of it, he had slept on that side last time as well), and curled himself around Kurt without a second thought, as if he had done it hundreds of times. Kurt, who was a little more nervous, relaxed as soon as Blaine pressed a few more soft kisses against his lips. He felt all the tension flow out of him as his breathing relaxed. He dozed of a few times, but Blaine never stopped holding him or pressing kisses everywhere he could reach. "Blaine," Kurt whined as Blaine kissed a particular spot between his clavicle and his neck. "Stop that. You promised."

Blaine closed his eyes and nuzzled the spot. "I'm sorry, Love, I can't help it. I told you I loved your skin. Now that I'm finally allowed to touch it I don't want to stop."

Kurt's breath hitched at the nickname. He loved it that Blaine called him that. "I like that."

"That I love your skin?"

"Hmm." Kurt chuckled as Blaine pressed a few kitten licks against his jaw. "Yeah, but I meant the nickname."

"Love?"

Kurt nodded. "Love."

"Good, because I plan to call you that for a long time."

"Good," Kurt repeated. "Now let's sleep."

Blaine nodded and shifted a little so he was lying on his side. He pulled at Kurt's arm until Kurt got the hint and curled himself around Blaine's back. He pressed a few more kisses against the nape of Blaine's neck before they both drifted off to sleep.

…

"Who on earth rings the door at this ungodly hour?" Blaine moaned as he turned around in Kurt's arms. "We should ignore it."

Kurt grinned and pressed a kiss against Blaine's lips before untangling himself. "It's almost nine. I'm surprised we slept so long. I'm surprised Emma slept this long."

"I could stay in bed with you all day," Blaine replied, pulling at Kurt's arm. "Let's do that."

"Hmm," Kurt leaned back in Blaine's arms and let himself be kissed more thoroughly. He was considering just getting back into the bed as the bell rang again. With a sigh he pulled away. "We have to get up for Emma anyway. Might as well check who's at the door; maybe it's my dad."

Blaine pouted but agreed reluctantly.

"Get out of bed and I'll make you guys a proper breakfast, nothing like the hospital food you had to survive on."

"That sounds like heaven," Blaine admitted as he pulled himself out of bed. "I'll just go freshen up and I'll see you in the kitchen."

Kurt nodded as he walked out of the bedroom, sighing in annoyance as the bell rang for a third time. Whoever it was better have a good excuse to ruin his almost-perfect morning. Whoever it was should be prepared to get sent away, as Kurt planned today to be just him, Blaine, and Emma, figuring out where they stood and what they would do. Today was about his family, and how Blaine would fit into that from now on. He opened the door, ready to get rid of anyone who could possibly be on the other side.

"Hey, Kurt."

Kurt's eyes widened. Out of all the people in the world, this was really the last one he expected.


	13. Chapter 13

**We're nearing the end! I feel like I should warn you, it's gonna be 15 chapters in total.**

**(Also, wow, what a reaction to the last chapter! I was overwhelmed! Thank you all so much!)**

CH 13

"Chandler?!" Kurt was astonished. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting?" Chandler beamed. "You said it was okay, right? A few weeks ago… when we ran into each other in New York."

"Yeah, but I asked you to call first!" Kurt stood back as Chandler walked into the house. He could not believe this was happening. Today was supposed to be about him and Blaine. He was barely even dressed; he had only put on sweatpants and a t-shirt, assuming whoever was at the door would be gone as soon as they came and he could crawl back into bed with Blaine. He sighed as he followed Chandler into the house. It looked like that wasn't happening.

"I know, but I lost your number, sorry," said Chandler, not even looking the least bit sorry. His smile was as big and cheerful as ever as he sat down at the kitchen table. "Funny thing, by the way, I actually stopped by a few days ago, but you weren't home."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he switched on the coffeemaker. If he was gonna do this he'd need a lot of caffeine.

"So I'd figured I'd drop by your parents house, I remember how close you were with your dad. Guess who I saw."

"Definitely not my dad, he would have warned me," Kurt grumbled as he downed his first cup of espresso in one go. Lots and lots of caffeine.

"No, your brother, Finn! He told me he runs the garage now. Funny, how things change."

Kurt stared at Chandler blankly. "Is this going anywhere? Because if this is just polite chit-chat you can shut up now. I'll go and wake Emma up so you can see her, have your biannual awkward conversation with her, and be on your way out, preferably before lunch."

Chandler giggled (God, he actually giggled, Kurt had forgotten how annoying he found that), and shook his head. "No, see, he said this funny thing. He said my daughter was in the hospital, having a kidney transplant from someone named Blaine, who I thought to be your boyfriend, only Finn didn't seem to know anything about that. He said he was just, and I quote 'her biological dad, man'."

Kurt closed his eyes and shook his head lightly.

"Now, I'm sure there's been a mistake somewhere. Since back in New York you said everything was fine with Emma."

"Chandler, I can explain," Kurt let out a weary sigh. He didn't need this, he didn't want this, but it was happening anyway.

"Kurt, Love, are you okay? I thought you were coming back to bed—oh…"

And of course Blaine had to choose that exact moment to walk into the kitchen, wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt. Kurt groaned. Could this get any worse?

"Well, well, Love…" Chandler's smile fell a little. "Maybe Finn didn't know everything after all."

"What are you doing here?" Blaine frowned as he looked from Chandler to Kurt. "What is he doing here?"

"I have no idea," Kurt said. "I'm guessing he's here for Emma."

"That's right, I'm visiting my family," Chandler said, his voice suddenly a lot colder. "I could ask the same of you."

"They're not your family," Blaine spat. "You walked away from them."

"Well they're not yours either," Chandler spat back. "In fact I'm pretty sure if I called the adoption agency now, they would advise me to call the police to get you taken away. A closed adoption means no contact, remember."

"Chandler, please," Kurt pleaded as he walked over to Blaine. "Please, let me explain." He grabbed Blaine's hand and looked at him with pleading eyes as well. "Just let me take care of this, okay? You get showered and dressed, and wake Emma up, and by the time you're ready this will be over."

"I don't want you alone with him," Blaine said softly to Kurt. "I don't trust him."

"He's Chandler. He's not gonna do anything." Kurt shook his head, as he grabbed Blaine's face between his hands, so he could look him in the eye. "Please, Blaine. If you don't trust him, trust me."

Blaine frowned as he glanced at Chandler. "If anything happens—"

"Nothing will happen, I promise," Kurt assured Blaine. "He's the past, okay. You're the future."

Blaine sighed as he nodded. "Okay, I love you."

Kurt smiled as he pressed a quick kiss against Blaine's lips. "I love you, too. Now go get dressed, you're distracting me."

"I am?" Blaine smiled teasingly. "See, that was the plan, to lure you back into bed with me."

"Go!" Kurt chuckled and pushed Blaine away after he pressed a kiss against his lips again, before turning around. He had to refrain himself from slapping Blaine's ass, as it looked mighty good in those tight boxers he was wearing. Behind him Chandler cleared his throat, and Kurt got pulled back into reality.

"So… care to explain? Or do I need to call the adoption agency after all?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and grabbed another cup of coffee before sitting down at the other side of the kitchen table. "It's pretty simple. Emma's kidneys were failing, so she needed a transplant. I couldn't be a donor, because I have a different blood type, so I needed to find someone who was."

"Why Blaine? Why not your parents?"

"Too old," Kurt answered directly.

"Why not me?"

Kurt hesitated before a moment. "I'll be honest, I thought of you."

"But you'd rather contact a man you've never even seen in your life than your ex, the father of your daughter."

"Chandler…" Kurt pondered his next sentence for a moment. "Blaine's chances of being a viable donor were much higher, since he_ is_ her father. I hadn't seen you in years. I honestly wasn't sure you'd care anymore."

"Papa?"

"Emma, Sweetie."

"I'm sorry," Blaine came into the kitchen with her. "She heard you and wanted to see him."

"It's okay." Kurt shook his head. He looked at Chandler. "That's why you're here, right, to see Emma. Well, here she is. Get it out of your system."

"You're wrong," Chandler said as he looked at Kurt. "_I_ am her father. It's my name on those papers."

Kurt closed his eyes and sighed.

"Hey, Emma, come here. You remember me, right?" Chandler said sweetly.

"Yeah, you're Chandler, Papa's ex-husband."

Kurt looked at the scene unfolding in front of him, and he could only see it ending in disaster. Emma was inching closer and closer to Blaine. She didn't know Chandler. Last time she had seen him was more than two years ago.

"And I'm your daddy," Chandler said with his signature million dollar smile as he stood up and crowded down in front of Emma. "What do you say, don't I get a hug?"

"You're not my daddy." Emma wheeled backwards, until her chair bumped against Blaine's legs, and she instinctively grabbed hold of him. "He is."

Kurt looked in surprise at Blaine when she said that. He had not expected that, and apparently neither had Blaine, as he was matching Kurt's impression of a goldfish. He saw the slight worry in Blaine's eyes as the man looked at him and smiled encouragingly at him. Emma was right, Blaine was her dad. They could worry about the details later, but right now this was what Chandler needed to hear.

"I can't believe this," Chandler stood back up to face Kurt with and angry scowl on his face. "I can't believe you manipulated her!"

"I… What?" Kurt looked puzzled. "I didn't even know you were coming, how could I manipulate her? Whatever she says, she says because that's the way she sees it. I'd never force her to do or say stuff she's not comfortable with. You know me, Chandler, you should know that."

"This is wrong, it's all wrong. He's not supposed to be here," Chandler raised his voice while gesturing at Blaine. "I'm supposed to be here. I'm her father. Not him!"

"Isn't it a bit late to play the jealous husband card," Blaine spat. "I think you've lost that right six years ago, when you walked away from them!"

"Daddy," Emma pulled at Blaine's shirt, and looked up at him with a fearful expression.

"Oh, Ems," Blaine's heart broke at the sight of Emma and he sank down to her level and pulled her in a hug. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"I can't believe this," Chandler said, his face incredulous. "I can't believe it." With that he walked back to the front door, opening it forcefully to get out.

"Chandler!" Kurt cried, walking behind him, "Please let's talk this out!"

"Surprise! Oh, you're not who I thought you were gonna be, am I at the wrong house?"

"Cooper?" Blaine showed up behind them with Emma in his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, so I am at the right house," Cooper said, fake-sweeping some sweat from his forehead to overdraw his relief.

"Who's that? Another father I don't know of?" Chandler said venomously as he briskly walked passed Cooper.

"For crying out loud, stop being such a drama queen." Kurt rolled his eyes. He glanced at Blaine, pleadingly. "I need to set this straight, please, I don't want him to… you know." He looked pointedly at Emma.

Blaine nodded. He knew what Kurt meant, even if Blaine was sure it would never happen. Kurt was afraid Chandler was gonna apply for custody of Emma. "Go, I'll handle this."

"Thanks." Kurt looked at Emma, who was still close to tears, and his heart nearly broke. "I'll be back soon, Sweetie, okay?" He pressed a quick kiss against her cheek before he turned to run after Chandler.

"Am I interrupting something? Or is this some sort of acting exercise you've come up with to keep you on edge?" Cooper asked as he walked inside. "Hello, little brother." His hand came up to mess with Blaine's curls. "And here's a girl I've wanted to meet for years now."

"You did?" Emma asked, turning her head that was buried in Blaine's neck so she could see who was talking to her. She was still sniffling a little and clinging tightly to Blaine's neck.

"He did," Blaine confirmed. "This, little girl, is my brother, Cooper. So I guess technically, he's your uncle."

"Hi there!" Cooper said with his million dollar smile. "Yes, I am the guy from the 'Free Ratings Today' commercial. Most people call me Mr. Anderson, but you can call me Uncle Coop!"

Emma blinked a few times and lifted her head to look at Blaine. "What a rating commercial?"

Blaine laughed as Cooper's face fell. "Let's get inside. I'll explain everything, okay?"

…

"Okay, Sweetheart, eat your _Frootloops_ and then you can watch some TV. I don't want you to tire yourself too much," Blaine said as he sat the bowl down in front of Emma. He grabbed two cups of coffee for himself and Cooper and sat down next to Emma, opposite of Cooper. "I didn't know you were back in town."

"Yeah, I got some time off from the new TV-show I'm working on," Cooper mumbled in his cup of coffee.

"You got fired, didn't you?" Blaine said, face blank.

"Hey!" Cooper looked defensive for a moment before slumping down in his chair. "Yeah, it wasn't my fault. I can't help it the assistant director was hot."

"Coop!" Blaine scolded. "You didn't…" he glanced at Emma. "You know."

Cooper shrugged. "Who cares, I was too good for that role anyway."

Blaine chuckled. "Whatever, big brother."

"This is way better though. I finally get to meet my favorite niece," he said, changing the subject not so subtly.

"I am your favorite niece?" Emma looked at him with big, unbelieving eyes. "But you just met me."

"But you're Blaine's daughter, so that makes you awesome by association."

Emma looked at him with a frown and started to giggle. "You're funny." She turned to look at Blaine. "Daddy I finished my _Frootloops_. Can I go watch some TV now?"

"Yeah, let me help you get settled."

…

"Chandler, please slow down. I don't want to fight with you!" Kurt said as he jogged after Chandler. He almost bumped into him when the man stopped abruptly and turned around.

"You know what I don't get?" he asked wearily, as he sank down on the curb, his arms resting on his knees. "Why did you lie to me in New York? why not just tell me the truth?"

Kurt shrugged as he sat down next to Chandler. "I honestly don't know." They were silent for a moment. "My dad has a theory about it, if you want to hear it?"

"Sure, Burt was always the smart one."

Kurt chuckled. "I was a mess when you left, Chandler. I really was. I loved you so much, you were the love of my life back then and when you left I wasn't myself for a long time. Now don't say anything," he cut off Chandler before the man could open his mouth. "Just listen. Seeing you after our divorce, it hurt. Every time I saw you some part of me hoped you'd change your mind, you'd want us back. You know when the first time was when I didn't want that?"

"In New York?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded.

"Was it because of Blaine?" asked Chandler, softly.

"No," Kurt hesitated for a moment. "Maybe partly. It was because Blaine showed me I was ready for another serious relationship. I realized I didn't miss you as much as I missed the idea of you. I missed a husband, someone to come home to, someone to share my life and Emma's with. So when I saw you in New York I wanted to show you I was over you. I wanted to show you I was happy, and that I finally didn't need you anymore."

Chandler nodded. "I'm sorry. I really did love you, I still do, I think, but I can't…"

"I know, I understand," Kurt replied. "At least, now I do. You don't want to put your family above your career, and that's what I asked of you. It wasn't fair to either of us."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's okay. I'm… over it," Kurt laughed softly. "I really am. I wouldn't want to go back anymore."

They were silent for another moment.

"I'll always love you, Kurt. If the circumstances were different… You're the love of my life, you know."

Kurt shook his head. "I'm not. You'll see, someday you'll meet a man that you'll love even more than you loved me."

"It's Blaine, right?"

Kurt bit his lip and ducked his head, trying to suppress the smile on his face. "I don't know. It's new, we have a few things to sort out first. But I love him. Emma loves him… and he loves us."

"You think he's the one?"

"I don't know," Kurt shrugged. "I used to think you were the one. Life's funny like that." He was silent for a few moments. "But I hope he is."

…

"Okay, let me get this straight, so you slept with the father of your biological daughter, then didn't talk with him about it for a week, and now when you're finally straightening things out, the ex-husband, official second father of said daughter, walks in on you two?"

Blaine hushed his brother and looked over his shoulder to the living room warily. Emma was watching a cartoon and didn't seem to be paying any attention to the two men in the kitchen, but he didn't want to take any chances. "I… yeah, basically. I mean, he didn't really walk in on us, but I guess the picture was pretty clear."

Cooper whistled softly. "Good soaps are made of stuff like this, maybe I can sell this to-"

"Coop!" Blaine scolded.

"Sorry, sorry," Cooper held up his hands. "It's all just so… Soap-opera-esque."

Blaine rolled his eyes and checked his watch. Kurt had been gone for almost half an hour.

"You're not… worried, are you?" Cooper said timidly.

"Of course I'm worried," Blaine snapped. "He's been gone for half an hour. How long does it take to say 'you're an ass, I don't ever wanna see you again'?"

"Blaine…" Cooper smiled at his little brother. "He loves you, he's not going to run off into the sunset with his ex."

Blaine frowned. "You don't know that. He was married to him once, so he obviously loved him a whole lot. We haven't even talked about what we are. I don't even know if he's my boyfriend or not."

"He wants to be." Blaine turned around abruptly. Kurt was standing behind him with a soft smile on his face. "Can we… talk? Like, really talk."

"Kurt!" Blaine gushed as he walked over to him and pulled him in a hug. "God, I was so worried."

Kurt shook his head as he returned the hug fiercely. "I told you not to worry."

Blaine nodded as he buried his head in the crook of Kurt's neck. Kurt still smelled like sleep, like bed, like them. Blaine was pretty sure he was in love with that smell.

"How about I take my niece out for lunch?" Cooper suggested. "I'm sure there's some nice diner around here."

Kurt pulled back and looked at Blaine questioningly, who nodded. "It's okay. He'll take care of her."

"Okay," Kurt agreed. They needed the privacy for a moment, and if Blaine was in his life, he couldn't deny Cooper either. Besides, one more crazy uncle wouldn't hurt.

…

**Guys, I have a question for you.** Since this story is almost finished, I'm thinking about my next one, and I don't know which one to do. I have two in mind, so I'm gonna give a short synopsis about each one, and you guys get to decide which one you'd prefer to read.

Set in Dalton, Kurt never transferred back to McKinley. He and Blaine aren't dating, but they're best friends. Blaine invites Kurt over to his place for the week (spring break, maybe?), only he's never done that. He's never asked anyone to go home with him. Turns out Blaine lives hours away, and at a farm. His mom is sort of like the housekeeper there, they've lived there ever since Blaine's dad left them. The owner of the farm is like family (like a cool aunt), and pays for his tuition to Dalton ever since the Sadie Hawkins fiasco. Imagine lots of teenage awkwardness, feelings, embarrassment. You know, a real teenager story.

Or… (and this is very different): Kurt is a time-traveler, but he doesn't know this yet. He thinks he's dreaming at first, very realistic dreams, but that's always been the case for him. The same boy always appears in this 'dreams'. Until one day he doesn't wake up, and he realizes he's on the titanic! Dream-boy (aka Blaine) interferes and explains everything. Turns out he's a traveler from his mother side (hence he didn't know about it, his mom never got to explain it, and his dad is happy to ignore it as long as it hasn't happened. He hoped his son hadn't inherited his mother's gift), and this is his first 'mission'. He doesn't know what it is, but he can't return to his own world before he finishes it. Lots of irritated Blaine (who is a 'experienced' traveler), and lots of feelings, obviously. Could be set in high school or New York-years idk yet. What would you guys like?

So, what do you think? I want to do both, but I can't write to stories at once. SO I'd like to know what you'd prefer to read. For the second one I chose the setting of Titanic because I'm obsessed with the ship, and I could write a pretty accurate historic story on board of the ship. So yeah, let me know in your reviews!

X, Joyce


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi guys,**

**Can we all simultaneously say 'Thank You' to themuse19 for getting this beta'd so quickly!**

**I'm sorry I didn't reply to you all, but the amount of reviews I got was overwhelming! Seems Like most preferred the 'farm'story. Don't worry if you wanted to read the other one, I'll probably end up doing both anyway.**

**Enjoy! (One more to go!)**

Ch 14

"Are you sure he'll take care of her?" Kurt bit his lip as he looked at Cooper and Emma disappearing around the corner. "She needs to do her cathing in an hour. Maybe I should have told him,-"

"Kurt," Blaine cut him off. "You did tell him, twice. And Emma knows the hours of her cathing just as well."

"Yes, but,-"

"No 'buts'," Blaine cut him off again. "Please, Kurt. We need this. We need to talk properly, to see where we stand. For ourselves and for Emma."

"I… Yeah, okay," Kurt's shoulders slumped and he let out a tired sigh. His stomach made a loud grumbling noise, and Blaine chuckled.

"Hungry?"

Kurt nodded. "I haven't eaten this morning; I just had some coffee."

"Okay." Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled him into the kitchen. "Let's make you something, and while you eat we can talk. It'll keep us from being… distracted."

"Distracted?" Kurt asked as he rose an eyebrow and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Hmm," Blaine hummed as he looked in the fridge. "You can be very… distracting, you know. There's some fruit and yoghurt. We can make you a quick fruit salad."

"Sure," Kurt agreed as Blaine put everything on the table. He grabbed one of the knives and started cutting an apple. Blaine grabbed the other knife and started to chop the banana.

"So, what did Chandler say?"

Kurt sighed, not sure how much of his conversation to reveal to Blaine. He didn't want to make the man jealous.

"Just, please, don't lie to me," Blaine asked, his voice soft. He put the chunks of banana in the bowl and grabbed a kiwi. "If you don't want to tell me everything because it's too personal, I get that, but don't lie."

Kurt shook his head, confused. "Why would I lie?"

"I don't want you to save my feelings. I get it, you were married to him; you wanted a family with him; you loved him." Blaine was almost rambling as he cut into the kiwi roughly. "I'm sure there are a lot of unresolved feelings there."

"Blaine, please stop massacring the poor kiwi. I want a fruit salad, not a mousse."

"Oh." Blaine blinked and looked at tiny pieces of kiwi in front of him. "Sorry. I just, I get it if you and Chandler... you know."

"No, I don't," Kurt looked carefully at Blaine, searching his face for any clues. "You don't think I still love him, do you? Or that I still want to be with him?" Blaine shrugged and grabbed half of the apple from Kurt's grasp, slicing it into smaller pieces. Kurt blinked and looked down and his half of the apple. He hadn't done more than cut the fruit into two pieces, but his mind was too busy trying to understand. "Blaine, I don't."

"You were married to him; you wanted a family with him."

"_Were_ and _wanted_ are key words in that sentence, Blaine. I was, and I wanted, but not anymore." Kurt shook his head. "If I told you Chandler said that he still loved me, what would you think my answer was?"

Blaine shrugged, grabbing the other half of the apple without looking Kurt in the eye.

"I told him I love you. I told him that he and I… we're not meant for each other. I told him that maybe one day he'll find a man that he'll love more than he loves me, like I did."

This seemed to grasp Blaine's attention as he put the pieces of apple in the bowl and looked up at Kurt. "I… you mean me?"

Kurt smiled and poured the yoghurt over the chopped fruit. "No I mean your brother. Of course I mean you, silly." He grabbed a spoon and took a mouthful, chewing it slowly, to think over his next words. "I know this is still new, and maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but what I feel for you… it's a lot."

Blaine nodded, a soft smile forming on his face. "Yeah, same here."

Kurt took a few more bites, letting the silence sit between them for a moment. He wasn't sure how to approach the next topic. He knew they needed to talk about Emma, about New York. It seemed that Blaine had the same worries, as the man spoke next. "I just, I need to know something, Kurt."

"Yes?"

"If we… I mean, I don't want it to, but if anything happens between us, if we don't… if it doesn't work out, I still want to see Emma. I mean, she's not just, something extra, for me." Blaine was stumbling over his words, trying to explain. "I really love her, and I want to be in her life, no matter what happens between us."

"Of course, Blaine, don't ever think I'll keep you away from your daughter, please." Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand over the table and stroked his thumb softy over Blaine's knuckles. "You need to believe that."

"Okay," Blaine smiled as he softly squeezed Kurt's hand. He loved even the smallest touch between them.

"Good." Kurt smiled as he took another bite of his fruit salad. He could feel the electricity between them, flowing through their fingers, and he suddenly understood what Blaine had meant earlier by 'distracting'. This was definitely distracting him. The small touch made him long for so much more. "One last thing I think we should talk about. Our living situation."

"Oh." Blaine was surprised by this. He hadn't expected that to be a problem, after all Kurt was the one to insist Blaine stay with them. "Yeah, okay, I get if this is awkward for you. I can call my mom to see if I can crash at her place for the moment. I mean, I'd go back to New York, but it'd be so hard to see Emma, and I did rent out my place for the summer, so-"

"No, Blaine, that's not what I meant," Kurt interrupted him. "I meant, the fact that you live in New York. You work in New York, and I live and work here."

"Oh." Realization dawned on Blaine's face.

"I just, I don't want us to do anything we'll regret," Kurt tried to explain. "You said your place was rented out for the summer?"

"Yeah, I sub-let it to someone who's taking a summer class in the city. I figured it was stupid to leave it empty and pay rent for almost two months when I would be here."

"Right, that makes sense," Kurt agreed. "I just, let's take this slow, okay. Let's see how things go this summer, no obligations afterwards. I can't move to New York, and you can't just quit your job to move here. I don't want there to be any expectations from either of us. I want us to be together, and we'll see how the summer goes, and when it's time for you to go back to the city, we'll deal with that when it comes, okay?"

Blaine frowned, but nodded anyway. He would gladly stay here with Kurt and Emma, but maybe Kurt was right. It was new, they were new, and maybe they needed to see how it went first.

Kurt smiled as he scraped his bowl empty. "So, now that's out of the way, how about those 'distractions' you mentioned earlier? Care to join me on the couch in the living room?"

Blaine grinned as he pushed his worries to the back of his mind. "I think the living room couch is a good place to get 'distracted'."

…

Cooper looked suspiciously as Emma was slurping loudly from her straw. "You're sure your dad won't mind?"

Emma shook her head fervently. "No, Uncle Coop. He always lets me have two pieces of cheesecake after a meal. I promise!"

"I don't know."

"Uncle Finn always gets me two pieces. He trusts me." Emma looked at Cooper with wide eyes and he caved, ordering two slices of cheesecake for his niece and a brownie for himself. Emma giggled in delight as the waiter brought her pieces and started on the first one right away. "You're the best." After a few bites she paused and looked at Cooper with a frown. "Do you have any babies?"

This almost sent Cooper into a coughing fit, so he took a large sip of his drink and cleared his throat before he answered. "No, why?"

"Oh," Emma sighed and her shoulders slumped. "I want a niece or a nephew to play with, but Papa says it's not safe for Uncle Finn to have babies since he's so clumsy. He says he'd probably drop the baby or something. I used to want a baby brother or sister."

"Not anymore?" Cooper asked.

Emma shook her head again. "No, because Papa says if we have a baby brother or sister I'll have to share my room, and I don't want that." Her eyes widened. "But Papa made a room for Blaine, so maybe the baby can have that room."

"So where will Blaine have to sleep?" Cooper chuckled.

"With Papa, duh!" she rolled her eyes. "They're my daddies, they can sleep together."

Cooper chuckled as she continued on her cheesecake. He loved how everything seemed so easy in an eight-year-old's eyes. He definitely had to tell this to Blaine. He was pretty sure Blaine would have no objections to Emma's idea, except maybe for the baby brother or sister she wanted.

"Where do you live?" Emma asked suddenly, her eyes fixated on Cooper. "Why haven't you come to visit us earlier?"

"I live in LA; I'm an actor," Cooper replied with a proud grin.

"Oh, that's so cool! Daddy Blaine is an actor too. He's on Breadway!"

"Broadway," Cooper corrected her.

"Yes, that. I want to be on Broadway too!"

"You'll have to move to New York for that," Cooper said. "Won't you mind living so far away from your Papa?"

"He can come with me! And Blaine too!" She giggled. "Papa used to live in New York when he was married to Chandler." She scrunched her nose. "He's not nice. He doesn't like Daddy."

"That's not nice." Cooper's mind was reeling. Chandler was the one he had met this morning - right. Blaine didn't like the guy; He'd be glad to hear his daughter felt the same way. "Maybe you can go visit Blaine in New York soon."

"Blaine doesn't live in New York." Emma cocked her head and looked at him with a funny expression. "He lives with me and Papa now. He's my daddy, he needs to live with us."

"Oh, right, I forgot," Cooper nodded. He really loved how Emma's brain worked. "Finish your second piece of cake, so we can get back."

Emma looked at the piece with wide eyes and a frown. "I'm full."

…

"Blaine, God, Blaine, stop," Kurt giggled as Blaine pushed his shirt up and nuzzled his nose against the exposed flesh. "I'm ticklish, Blaine!"

"I can't help it," Blaine murmured against Kurt's stomach. "You're so smooth. I adore your skin."

"Yes, we've already established your weird obsession with my skin."

Blaine looked up and pushed himself up so he was face to face with Kurt. "I'm allowed to have a weird obsession with your skin, because you're mine." He locked their lips together and caressed Kurt's exposed stomach and chest with one hand. "My beautiful boyfriend with his beautiful skin," he mumbled between kisses. "God I wish I had asked Cooper to stay away for lunch and dinner. I just want to kiss you all day."

"Just kiss, hmm?" Kurt smiled against Blaine's lips. "I don't believe you."

"I can kiss you during other activities as well, Love," Blaine whispered. Kurt let out a strangled noise as Blaine buried his head in Kurt's neck and started pressing fleeting kisses all over it. "So yes, I'd love to kiss you all day long."

"Ahem."

Kurt's head shot up as he pushed Blaine off from top of him, scrambling to pull his shirt back down.

"I take it you two talked?"

"Shut up, Coop," Blaine mumbled as he adjusted his pants and tried to get comfortable on the couch without being too obvious. Kurt rolled his eyes ad he grabbed a blanket and threw it over Blaine's lap, while he grabbed the remote control and started the TV.

"Where's Emma?"

"She's in the kitchen, putting away her cheesecake. We brought it home," said Cooper as he sat down next to Blaine.

"She didn't eat it right away?" Kurt asked, as he raised his eyebrows. "She must have been really full."

"Oh she did, but she couldn't finish her second piece, so we took that with us."

"Her second piece?" Kurt's eyes widened. "You got her two pieces?"

Cooper looked dumbfounded. "She said you always get her two pieces?"

Kurt shook his head as he got up, muttering. "She does this every time, Finn always falls for it as well. Emma Katherine Hummel, where are you young lady?!"

Cooper frowned as he saw Kurt disappear into the kitchen. "I swear I didn't mean any harm. She just… I thought…"

"It's okay." Blaine patted his brother's arm. "She's your first niece, you'll learn."

"She's amazing, you know!" Cooper gushed. "And she loves you so much. She couldn't stop talking about you."

"Really?" Blaine smiled broadly.

"Yeah, she even called you 'daddy' a few times. She's smitten with you."

"I…" Blaine blushed. "That's good. I'm glad."

"She also thinks you live with them, and you should just sleep in Kurt's room so the new room can be for her baby brother or sister."

"I… what?" Blaine blinked at his brother. "What?"

"Well it was that or a niece or nephew from me."

"I…" Blaine didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, you might want to talk to her about that, anyway. How did it go with Kurt?" Cooper continued as if he hadn't said anything special. "Good, I take it?"

"Coop!" Blaine blushed a bright red.

"Come on, Squirt. You're my little brother, we're supposed to talk about this. Don't act like I didn't just catch you necking with Kurt on this couch." He was silent for a moment. "Please tell me you were both dressed and I'm not currently sitting on your butt-sweat."

"I… what, no! Cooper!" Blaine groaned. "We talked, and we decided to just see where the summer would take us. I still have my apartment in New York after all."

"And your job," Cooper said.

"Hm, yeah, that."

"You don't?"

Blaine shushed him as he looked at the kitchen, where Kurt was talking to Emma. "I… I couldn't exactly take a vacation of two months. I'm just the understudy. They wouldn't let me."

"Oh."

"Kurt doesn't know," Blaine said. "And I don't want him to know. He'll only feel guilty. It doesn't matter, okay? It's just a job."

Cooper shook his head with a sigh. "You're the eternal romantic, Blainers. It's sad and beautiful."

Blaine shrugged. He'd tell Kurt eventually. Besides, there wasn't anything in New York for him, not when his family was here. Not when his heart was here.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi!**

**So, last chapter, how weird is that?**

**I haven't started my new story yet, so I don't know when I'll start posting it either. It will come, I promise that much. (For the record, most of you choose the farmer story, so I'll start with that one.)**

**I'm hoping to write a lot in July, so maybe in the beginning of august? But who knows?**

**Enjoy this last chapter, Thank you all for reviewing!**

**And special thanks for themuse19, for being the best beta a writer could ask for! :)**

SB CH 15

Kurt had tried. He had really, honestly tried. In the beginning he had even gotten up early to mess up the bed in the living room so it at least looked like it had been slept in. It had lasted two weeks, until Emma asked 'why that stupid bed was still there is she wasn't going to get a baby brother or sister anyway'. (They had that awkward conversation after Cooper left, and it had ended with Kurt declaring she should just ask for cousins the next time she saw Cooper. It had been his fault he had to have that conversation with her anyway.)

So he had called his dad to pick up the bed, and that had led to another awkward conversation. In the end his dad had hugged both men and told Blaine to take care of Kurt and Emma, which Blaine had promised he would do.

Summer had flown by, and Kurt couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy. Blaine living with them was… almost perfect. Of course they argued every now and then (He couldn't deny it, he might have started some of these arguments on purpose; the make-up sex was just too good.), but most of the time it just felt… right. Coming home to someone, to his family, still made Kurt's stomach do back flips.

Emma's kidney was working great, and she wouldn't need to go for another check-up for the next three months. Everything seemed wonderful, except for one thing, the thing that had been looming at the back of his mind for the last week, the one thing he had been ignoring, and really shouldn't anymore. It wasn't like there was anything that would happen to change the facts. Summer was coming to an end and Blaine was going back to New York. They hadn't talked about it, but Kurt knew it was happening, and he hated it. He didn't want Blaine to leave, but he couldn't ask him to stay either. It wouldn't be fair to Blaine, his career.

Currently they were lying on a picnic blanket in the park. Emma was playing with her friends, and Kurt and Blaine were enjoying the sun and each other's company. They tried not to get too cuddly, it was still Lima, after all, but Kurt couldn't help the stolen kisses and subtle touches every now and then. It could be another one of their picture perfect moments of the summer, but Kurt couldn't help himself. "When are you going back?"

"Hmm?" Blaine rolled on his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows to gaze at Kurt. "Back to where?"

"Home… I mean, New York," Kurt said, biting his lip and looking away.

"Oh…" Blaine cocked his head and played with the fringes of the picnic blanket. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, Honey, no!" Kurt shook his head. "I don't, but school is starting again in two weeks so that means summer break is over, and I just… We should talk to Emma about this. I don't think she really grasps the fact that you're only here for the summer." He'd rather postpone the inevitable talk, and the tears that would surely follow, but he couldn't do that forever. He couldn't wait until a day before Blaine left. That would be even more horrible for Emma." And I want to know where we stand."

Blaine bit the inside of his cheek and rolled back onto his back, staring at the sky above him.

"I heard you talking on the phone a few days ago, with your boss, I think? You said you'd be in touch next week."

"Oh, you heard that?" Blaine was still staring at the sky. "What did you hear exactly?"

"_Really? That's great, I mean, wow, I can't believe it!" Blaine said into the phone, an ear-to-ear smile adorning his face._

_Kurt knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping. He was pretty sure Blaine wouldn't mind if he just walked into the living room, but something stopped him. _

"_I can't believe it. Man, I can't believe I got the job." Blaine looked really happy, and as much as Kurt wanted to keep him here, he knew Blaine belonged in New York._

"I'm guessing they offered you another role? Maybe the lead and not just the understudy?" Kurt tried to suppress his disappointed sigh. He was proud of Blaine, really! "I mean, that's… that's great. I'm really proud of you and all."

"Kurt, I love you," Blaine started.

"I know, I love you, too, but I get it. It's Broadway, of course I get it, it's just… this summer has been so perfect, I'm gonna miss you so much." Kurt shook his head and closed his eyes to stop the tears.

"I quit."

"What?" Kurt suddenly sat up and stared down at Blaine who was still gazing at the sky.

"They wouldn't give me a two-month break, Kurt. I was just the understudy, so I quit my job before I came here."

"Oh."

"I need you to know I did it for Emma, and I would do it again in a heartbeat." Blaine finally moved his head to look at Kurt. "I don't regret it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt bit his lip. He couldn't believe Blaine had quit his job. He had just… he had given up on Broadway.

"Because I knew you'd feel bad, because I knew you'd feel guilty." Blaine shrugged as he looked back up at the sky. "Do you remember what I told you back when you visited me in New York?"

"You told me a lot that weekend," Kurt answered hesitantly.

Blaine hummed in agreement. "I told you that Broadway is just a job. I mean, I loved it, and I love that I could make a living out of something that felt like a hobby, but it's just a job. I told you if I found the right man I'd have no problem giving it up and following him wherever."

"No," Kurt shook his head fervently. He saw where this was going and just… "No! Blaine I can't let you do that. It's Broadway! You can't give that up for me."

Blaine shrugged. "It's just a job, Kurt. I can get a job here. The call you overheard, that was about a job. They're looking for a music teacher at an elementary school nearby."

"Blaine, you can't just… I mean, not for me! I'm not worth giving up Broadway for!" Kurt was struggling to wrap his mind around this. Part of him wanted to tackle Blaine and never let go, celebrate that there was a chance Blaine was staying, Blaine would be with him. But another part of him wouldn't accept it. He couldn't be this lucky. He couldn't let Blaine give up Broadway for him.

"I knew you'd say that, but that's okay." Blaine shrugged. "You'll give in eventually. You can't change my mind, Kurt. I got the job, I have to come in next week to see my classroom and discus schedules and all."

"But…"

"No, I'm sorry but you don't get to say no to this. It's my decision. I want to be here, for you of course, and for Emma. Even if we… I mean… I don't want to, but if you don't want to be with me, I still want to be close for Emma. I can't just go back to New York and lose her all over again."

"You wouldn't lose her," Kurt says, softly. "We'd be in touch; we'd come to visit you. I promised I wouldn't take your daughter away from you."

"I know, but it wouldn't be the same. I'd get to see her maybe once a month, if I'm lucky. I don't want that." Blaine shook his head and looked straight at Kurt, who swallowed audibly as Blaine continued. "Now I know we agreed on the summer, and God, Kurt, I love you. I'd love to stay together, I'd love to keep dating you, but I get that you didn't expect this. I've also been looking into apartments close by. I won't be far away, and I want to see Emma as much as possible, obviously, and you, if you want me."

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt shook his head and grabbed Blaine's hand, intertwining their fingers. He looked down on them and sniffled softly. "I'll always want you."

"Good," Blaine smiled, even if it didn't reach his eyes. "That's good."

Kurt shook his head as he stared off into space. He knew he should be happy. Blaine was staying! He should be euphoric. He should be dancing around the park screaming how much he loved the man from the top of his lungs. Blaine did everything he never dared to hope for, not after Chandler. Blaine stayed; he chose his family above his career. It's just that… He didn't get it. He didn't know why he didn't feel like dancing and screaming. They had decided on the summer, and nothing after that, it was only logical Blaine was making plans for after the summer. Only, now that Kurt knew Blaine was staying, he wanted more. He didn't want Blaine making all these decisions on his own. He wanted Blaine to discuss them with Kurt. He wanted Blaine to talk to him about these things, to confide in Kurt instead of just… telling him.

…

A week later Kurt was sitting in the back yard and absentmindedly flipping through some random magazine. He was sitting on a blanket, his back against a tree. Emma was playing in her sand box with Lady and paying no attention to him. She waved excitedly when Blaine came to join them, but her attention was quickly back on her sandcastle.

"So… How was it?" Kurt asked.

"Great!" Blaine beamed as he sat down next to Kurt, pressing a kiss against his lips. "It's amazing. I get to decorate my own classroom and I get a bunch of instruments to use. Granted, most of them are old and worn, but I can make something out of them. I need to find someone to tune the piano."

"That's great," Kurt answered. He was honestly happy to see Blaine so excited about his new job.

"I… uh, I also got a call for one of the apartments."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, I've got a viewing appointment tomorrow afternoon," Blaine said hesitantly. "Will you come with me?"

Kurt was silent for a while, looking at Emma. "I…" He didn't know what to say. He still didn't like the fact that Blaine had just decided all of this without consulting him. It didn't feel right. They were a couple; shouldn't couples talk about these kinds of things? He didn't want a repeat of his experience with Chandler, where they never talked to each other. He wanted more from his relationship with Blaine. He didn't want to be left in the dark like had happened with Chandler. He wanted to know what Blaine was thinking, feeling, why he chose to stay. "I guess so."

"You don't have to," Blaine answered softly. Kurt could hear the disappointment in his voice. "I just… I mean, you said we'd still be together, right? So I want you to like it there as well. I want you to feel at home there."

Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Oh."

"I mean… you still want that, right? You still want me?"

"If I said no, would that change your plans?" Kurt asked coldly.

"I… no," Blaine answered, and this time Kurt could hear the hurt, see it in the way his voice trembled, the way he shied away from Kurt. "It wouldn't change the fact that there's still Emma, and I want to be close to her." He could hear Blaine sniffling. "I… I love you. That wouldn't change either."

"Oh, God, Blaine," Kurt bit his lip, guilt flooding through him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He pulled Blaine into a hug. "I love you, too."

"I… don't you want me here?" Blaine asked, his voice still soft. "I just… I want to be close to you. I want to really give us a chance."

"Me too," Kurt hesitated. He might as well be honest, right? "I just, I hate that you decided all of this without even talking to me. I mean, I get the Broadway thing. You quit before _we_ even happened, but I don't get why you didn't talk to me about the teaching, or the apartment. I… I acted so cold because for a moment there I thought you only stayed with me because of Emma."

"I'm not," Blaine denied. "I just… I didn't want to assume anything. We agreed I'd stay 'til the end of the summer, and I didn't want to overstay my welcome, so I figured I'd make plans for after the summer."

Kurt nodded. "I just wish you'd included me in these plans."

"I'm sorry," Blaine apologized. "I didn't… I didn't want to assume anything. I mean, I hoped, but I didn't…"

"I know." Kurt was silent for a moment. "Come here?" He opened his arms and smiled when Blaine settled between his legs, back against chest. "Can we at least talk about it now?"

"Yeah, of course. What first?"

"The job. I didn't know you like teaching?"

"Oh, yeah!" Blaine smiled enthusiastically. "I got a teaching degree. It was always my plan. If Broadway didn't work, I had no talent for it or I got too old. I always planned on teaching."

"So it's something you love, right? You're not just… settling." Kurt asked, hesitant.

"No, I… I mean, I love it, I really do, but at the end of the day it's just a job. I'd rather settle for a job instead of for love. I mean, I can't' have you and Emma in New York, so I want to be here. I'd clean out garbage cans if it meant I could stay here."

"Blaine!" Kurt pulled at his curls playfully.

"I would!" Blaine protested. "But I got lucky, I guess. I found a job I love close to the family I love. It's a win-win."

"Good, that's good." Kurt started twirling Blaine's curls between his fingers. He loved Blaine's hair, especially when it wasn't held down by any product. He loved running his hands through it. He didn't even mind it when it almost suffocated him at night because he was spooning behind Blaine and his curls were all over Kurt's face.

"That's all?"

"No." Kurt shook his head and pressed a kiss against Blaine's neck. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He vaguely smelled Blaine's cologne, his soap, but mostly he just smelled Blaine. "The apartment. Why… I mean… you never even said anything about moving out. I mean, if it's too crowded here, or you want your own space, I get it, but…"

"Kurt?" Blaine's voice was soft, unsure. "I didn't… I mean, I didn't think of it as moving out. I just, assumed that's what you expected? You asked me here for the summer, not… I mean."

"Yeah, but, that was before," Kurt shook his head and buried his face in Blaine's neck as he tightened his grip on the man. "I can't imagine…" He couldn't imagine not having this. Not waking up to Blaine, not coming home to him. He couldn't imagine having to schedule time together.

"What?" Blaine murmured. "Tell me."

"No, sorry. I'm being selfish. Of course you want your own place."

"I… do you want me to get my own place?"

Kurt's heart skipped a beat. His answer was barely audible, just a whisper. "No."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Blaine turned around in his arms and grinned at him. "Just to make sure, you're officially asking me to move in with you, right?"

"You're already living here," Kurt replied. "You're stuff is all over our bedroom."

Blaine pressed a kiss against Kurt's lips. "Let me rephrase this then. You're really asking me to bring all the rest of my stuff from New York to Lima, to let me put it all over our house, to let me pay half of the rent. You're asking me to stay?"

Kurt's smile broadened with every word. "I'm asking you to stay."

"Good." Blaine pressed another kiss against his lips and turned back around, so he was resting against Kurt's chest again. "Hey, Ems, guess what?"

"What?" She looked up from her sandcastle with a curious expression.

"Daddy's staying with us," Kurt answered before Blaine could.

"He's been staying with us all summer," Emma answered as she focused her attention back on her castle, scolding at Lady for swinging with her tail enthusiastically, which had ruined half of the castle.

"Yeah, but like… He's staying…" Kurt didn't know how to explain it, how to tell her.

"Forever," Blaine completed his sentence.

"Forever," Kurt agreed. "Sounds good, Ems?"

She looked back up at them with a smile. "Yeah. I like having my daddies with me."

"Good." Kurt tightened his grip on Blaine, pressing a series of kisses against his neck. "Forever, I like that."

"Me, too." Blaine sighed as he sagged against Kurt, relaxing under the caressing touch. "Sounds like a plan."


End file.
